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MAN ON WIRE (2008) (****)

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This true-life story plays like a great heist movie. However, Philippe Petit didn't steal anything… well maybe he stole some folks' imaginations. He committed a crime that harmed no one… well maybe harmed the pride of some security guards and policemen. His performance was a precursor to David Blaine's large public tricks mixed with a more French and less crude Jackass stunt and Christo scale artwork. His caper was comedic, risky and beautiful. It was something that most people would not understand just how beautiful until they saw it.

Petit was a street performer who was self taught in wire walking. When the World Trade Center was being built, he believed he was destined to walk the two hundred feet between the towers on a wire. Because the stunt was illegal, extremely dangerous and seemingly impossible made the attempt all the more exciting. He had previously worked between the towers of Notre Dame cathedral and the Sydney Harbor Bridge, but the WTC was a whole another challenge. He meticulously planned the stunt from how they would get into the building to how they would get the wire from one tower to the next. While the young Petit comes off as juvenile, he was a total professional when it came to his art.

James Marsh's documentary not only captures the amazing event, but the personality of the man whom pulled it off. His confidence and energy attracted collaborators, and during the 1970s when youthful rebellion was en vogue, his mischievous crime was tantalizing. His best friend Jean-Louis Blondeau was his chief partner. His practical personality balanced Petit's bold optimism perfectly. Blondeau is like the pit crew in NASCAR, the inglorious part of the team that gets none of the limelight, but is just as essential to success as the man behind the wheel. Like any thrilling caper story, there is a love story, setbacks, uncertain alliances and unbelievable obstacles. Marsh unravels this story with a touch of humor and a dash of awe.

This inspirational story is a smile inducer. One knows the outcome going in, but that's only part of the story. The lead up makes the pay off far more exciting. Through archival footage, modern interviews, photographs and re-enactments, the film captures the scope of the planning that went into the whole plan. Many might not understand Petit's desire to do what he did, or even enjoy it, but they can still be impressed with his unflappable determination in the face of the impossible.

While it's not ever mentioned once throughout the film, there is undoubtedly a subtext of 9/11 throughout the film. The towers no longer stand. Now, under post-9/11 fears, Petit would have probably ended up in some unknown detention center somewhere for what he did. But by not mentioning it, the film conjures up nostalgia for a simpler time. A time when a mischievous artist could string a wire between the World Trade Center towers and walk between them, and after he was arrested, he was sentence to perform for children in Central Park.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks