Oh my goodness! A dude actually walked from one of the World Trade Center towers to the other on a tightrope in the 70's. How did I not know about this until now? "Man on Wire" is this year's Oscar winner for Best Documentary and it is a strange thrill to watch. You keep wanting to close your eyes but for some reason they remain open as you watch French hire wire extraordinaire Philippe Petit in action. No stranger to thrills, this man has walked along a wire on top of Notre Dame in Paris and the Sydney Harbour Bridge to name a few. The film's focus is on the WTC feat in particular flashing back and forth to help give the proper set up and introduce all the players.
In a post 9/11 world the film takes on new significance as we are treated to stunning photography of the towers in the glory immediately following their construction. There was an inevitable emptiness that I felt in my stomach as some of the stills revealed the levels upon levels of narrow stairways. My brain flew instinctively to the stories of people fleeing down those very stairs decades later. It is difficult to separate that history from the unfolding narrative of Petit and his crew but if you are able to do so, this film is definitely worth a watch. It doesn't really judge or question as often documentaries do...it just gives the viewer a peek into a man's madness/dream (whatever you want to call it) and it reveals an incredible tale. I mean truly unreal. I still can't believe it actually happened.
http://www.manonwire.com/
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