Ryan McNeil
Some people just exist on a whole different plain of reality. One such person is Philippe Petit. This is a man who spent much of his time growing up riding on unicycles, and juggling in his native Paris. He also gained notoriety for becoming a guerrilla tightrope walker (he executed high wire acts above Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
So while most of us would treat news of twin towers being built in Manhattan with a straightforward “Neat”, Petit’s first reaction was “I must walk a tightrope between them!!”. His dream of doing so is the subject of the wonderful documentary MAN ON WIRE.
Making the doc a little more sublime, is the fact that as Petit was planning and training for this daring deed, someone had the foresight to film the work. The result, nicely peppered with some stunning still photos, feels like an lost project from the French New Wave.
Another touch that I quite appreciated, was the doc’s ability to stay on message. Given the detail of where this act of daring-do happened, one would think it would be easy to pull the conversation towards 9/11. Somewhet surprisingly, not even one allusion is made, rightly keeping the emphasis on Petit’s enchanting character, and the effort that went into pulling off such a unique happening
I loved this film. It actually brought me to tears a couple of times, and not just because the Twin Towers are no longer standing. I loved watching how the power of one person’s dream can actually transform the lives of people around them.