Considering the preparation it took Philippe Petit and his band of co-conspirators to make ready his famed walk between the newly constructed World Trade Center towers in 1974 you would think when asked why he did it the answer would be more than a laugh and a smile followed by, “There was no why.” As it turns out, that answer is actually what makes Man on Wire so intriguing.
The events of 9/11 make it impossible not to take the falling towers into consideration when watching this film. However, as Man on Wire begins and we see archived footage of construction crews working to build the two 1,300 foot towers we are instantly introduced to a renewed perspective of the Towers. The towers were constructed for business and economic purposes only to be destroyed in an act of terrorism. But for Philippe Petit they became a lifelong dream ever since that day he saw concept art for the massive structures in a magazine in a dentist’s office in France. For Petit the act of walking across a wire spanning 140 feet across and 1,300 feet above ground was one of bravery and an accomplishment of a lifetime. While flouting the law his actions hurt no one and lifted the spirits of many.
Made up of archival footage, new interviews and staged footage based on actual events Man on Wire is a fractured, yet linear narrative that begins by setting the stage for the Tower walk, while taking viewers on a tour of Petit’s exploits leading up to it. We see Petit take a walk between the towers of Notre Dame and then a mid-air stroll at the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia. While this is going on we meet the folks that helped him along the way.
Petit himself is a lively interview just one year shy of 60. He obviously takes great pride in his walk and enjoyed the celebrity that came as a result. The retelling of the story is thrilling at times including a three-hour hideout beneath a tarp as a security guard refused to resign his late night patrol. To hear Petit tell the story you can’t imagine anything more exciting. However, the pins and needles of the event come as you listen to friend Jean-Louis Blondeau, Petit’s girlfriend Annie Allix and the others involved in the story.
Meticulous preparation went into the planning stages and even some of the folks close to the project couldn’t handle it at the final moments for fear of Petit’s life and their future. One man says of America, this is a country of “assisted suicide” and “involuntary manslaughter” and the last thing he wanted was to take part in either of those things when it came to Petit. With Blondeau and Allix you have a story of friendship and a story of love. One is overwrought with what appears to be happiness met with regret while the other seems to be instantly inspired at the mention of Philippe’s name and what he accomplished. There is more to both their stories and by the end you want to know it all.
So much of the praise for this film has to do with what Petit and his friends accomplished. Yes, the walk is impressive considering it would take less planning and guts to pull off a bank robbery than to do what these folks did. The walk 1,300 feet above the ground is the capper that makes it damn near unbelievable. However, I think the stories told by Blondeau and Allix are just as intriguing if not the actual heart of the project, but that is what makes Man on Wire such a hit. While some may choose to simply marvel at the feat achieved there is room for others to take something more away from the film.
In this post 9/11 era to watch a film that begins in a world in which the Twin Towers don’t exist, are then constructed and ultimately conquered, and to have it be a symbol of bravery and personal achievement says a lot to me. As I watched, the steel beams of the massive structure were lifted up rather than falling down. Only difference this time is that I didn’t have a knot in my stomach, at least not out of heartbreak and despair.
A
