Review

Review Date: 10-August-08
Spoiler Rating: High
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Man on Wire (2008)

One look at Philippe Petit's pixie face and you suspect his reality differs from most. Petit is the subject of Man on Wire, a documentary about how he managed to walk a tightrope between New York's World Trade Center towers in August 1974. As explained by the woman who was his girlfriend at the time, he simply could not go on living without conquering those towers in his way; or rather, she says "we" could not go on living, having admitted that her life was subsumed in his. Which is understandable with a dynamo like Petit.

It is a double blessing that recent interviews with Petit make up a good part of the film, because (1) he is as vibrant and engaging as ever, and (2) the viewer could not enjoy watching the escapade without knowing that he survived. Suspense is not typically associated with documentaries, but Man on Wire is chock full of it. Here is a young man (seen in old home movies) living a bohemian life in his native France who becomes obsessed with the Twin Towers even before they are built. His talent and single-mindedness grow as the buildings rise to be the tallest in the world (seen in old photographs and films). In preparation for the big event, Petit walks between the spires of Notre Dame cathedral and the trusses of a bridge in Sidney harbor. While he grooves on the media attention generated by his feats (and subsequent arrests), he is a portrait of concentration when out on his wire, an artist seeking heights of perfection. He embodies the irresistible megalomania that seems to have a touch of divine purpose behind it.

Divine backing or no, Petit certainly needed human help to accomplish his masterpiece. He gathered a ragtag band of friends and accomplices from France, Australia, and the U.S. to plot his infiltration of the Towers with all the necessary equipment. (I love how filmmaker James Marsh uses the image of a little airplane going back and forth across the Atlantic on a map. This happens over and over as Petit and crew head to New York for reconnaissance and for one aborted attempt at "the coup.") As consummation approached, everyone but Petit fell victim to doubt. Although the madness of the plan attracted them in theory, nobody wanted to contribute to the horrific death which the facts suggested was likely. Present-day interviews with the crew show that they are all still in awe of what happened and their part in it.

Petit stepped out on the wire after a sleepless night spent evading security guards and setting up the rigging between the Towers, which his friend says was the worst job they had ever done. With police at his back, helicopters overhead, and gawkers on the streets below, he spent 45 minutes above the void, walking back and forth and lying down — and smiling. It was as if he went beyond his former concentration into an atmosphere of transcendent achievement. Speaking to a TV news reporter, an amazed policeman at the scene speculated that he had witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. That his guess was probable from that day to September 10, 2001, and is undeniable now only adds to the wonder of this tale.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.