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April 29, 2009
Man on Wire (2008)
If there was a documentary I should have seen in the theater last year, this was it. I regret now that I waited to see it on my tiny portable DVD player. I have gotten lazy about driving out to Irvine when the good movies are in town and need to be better about it. This movie is one in which the artist and his art are discussed and admired, and the art is wire walking. The artist is Philippe Petit, who, at a rather young age, saw the World Trade Center towers and decided that he would one day walk on a wire between them. This documentary takes place nearly 35 years after the fact and all of the people involved in the story are interviewed. Thankfully, there is plenty of footage of Petit and his crew, and a few reenactments fill in the gaps.
Petit is instantly engaging as he tells his own story, and his own character as a young man is instantly intriguing. I'm not sure if there is a time in the movie when he explains why he does what he does or even how he made ends meet in order to travel to the various locations he "conquers". There is a reference made to his performance as a street entertainer, but that's about it. And so the focus becomes Petit and the art of what he does, along with the interesting heist-like story of how he and his friends were able to plan his walk between the twin towers. I don't even want to call it a stunt, because it never comes across that way in the movie.
One of my favorite parts of this movie is actually when we see some old footage of when Petit performed at the top of Notre Dame. It was early one morning, and Petit was seen high above the ground, artfully lying down and balancing on a wire at the top of the cathedral. In this, as well as his other performances, the person filming is so far away from Petit that the camera looks like it's focusing on a man who simply walks on air. And he does make it look that simple.
It just seems so impossible that a few young men could accomplish stringing a giant wire in such a public place, with security guards all around. That aspect of the story is really interesting. I loved the reactions of the people who were there on the scene, especially the police men. I also liked the story of Petit and his girlfriend, and how their relationship was affected by his plan and his art (and how he celebrated after the performance). The whole mood of the film is so mesmerizing, and I even found myself thinking that it could only have been accomplished by a Frenchman. Haha.
Anyway, it's hard to put into words all the things I thought about while watching this documentary, which seems quiet and simple, yet is awe-inspiring. I loved it and am so glad it won the Oscar for best documentary.
Posted by Jeri 
at 06:11:50 pm | movies, 2008
2 comments
Glad you loved it, although I can't imagine anyone not loving this movie. What surprised me about both this documentary and In the Shadow of the Moon was how darn suspenseful they were even though you already know the outcome! Both movies made me very tense during the step-by-step retellings of their audacious schemes.One of my favorite parts of Man on Wire was the revelation that Petit planned the wire walking before the WTC was even built -- in a newspaper he saw a diagram of the planned buildings, which naturally looked like they were built to walk between! It never occured to me until then but how fortuitous that the tallest building in the world should be built next to a mirror image of itself!
But what I think really appeals about this film is the fact that it is a men-at-work yarn that has all the elements of an elaborate bank heist, but without any of the morally questionable issues that threaten to keep the audience from full emotional investment in the main characters.
The fact that Petit saw the WTC as being built FOR him also gives the opportunity for a beautiful montage of the construction of the building. Even though the documentary tastefully never mentions 9/11, this sequence (and in fact the whole film) is a moving paean to this ediface whose absence adds a kind of meloncholy joy to the whole picture.
In that sense it is a kind of profound counterpoint to United 93 or any future movie about the elaborate plans to destroy the towers: Once there was a band of enthusiasts who exerted just as much ingenuity and subterfuge to turn the towers into a site of wonder instead for its spectators instead of horror.
I agree - sometimes I had to remind myself not to feel too tense about what would happen, since it was obvious that he made it! And yes, I also enjoyed the fact that it was a victimless heist - or a heist that was for the benefit of all involved. All of the stuff you mention is great stuff, shows how the movie appears simple yet seems to make you think of a million things without pointing you directly at them. 
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