What I've Watched: Man on Wire

Few films move you to gasp with amazement. Man on Wire definitely did this for me. I think it's the melding of a man whose desire to entertain and challenge himself with the physicality of the buildings he tightropes across in this movie. That those buildings are the two World Trade Center towers make this an even more powerful documentary, because the movie ends up being a love letter to the WTC through the eyes of this incredible guy.

Phillipe Petit enjoyed wirewalking across challenging structures. He did the towers of Notre Dame and then bridge towers in Sydney. Considering this was 1975, it's just crazy to see this kind of art being performed, and art it is. This is a guy performing at 1,350 feet in the air on a wire. It's just breathtaking to watch all the effort culminate when he finally steps out.

My mom and wife kept shaking their heads, calling this guy crazy. I am not claiming some sort of kindred spirit with Petit, but I definitely believe there is something about "creative" people finding appreciation in someone else's creation that others may not instantly grasp. This doesn't mean I like Pollack or Matisse or Beethoven in a way they never would, but there is just something I cannot explain about how differently we viewed this movie. They seemed to be breaking it down on practical and legal terms, while I was just swimming in the awe of the event and moment.

It was kinda eerie watching the opening half-hour, when you watch the construction of the towers, because you see the same hole and steel and parts that we all saw deconstructed in 2001. It's unsettling, and I think the film benefits from not really even addressing the attacks. Instead, the whole focus is where it should be, on this one-time event that was a breathtaking moment.