Rating of
3/4
Man on Wire review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 12/01/11
A documentary about a 5’8” French named Philippe Petit’s of his passion for high wire walking. On August 7, 1974 Philippe, together with a dedicated team, does acrobatic movements 1,350 feet above the ground. He was arrested more than a 1,000 times, enjoys juggling and entertaining people. What fascinates me about this picture was how defiant he was despite his strict upbringing, as revealed by a female friend who supported him. The illegal nature of his performances is what makes the documentary more enticing. His focus is unbridled, doing what he loves, which is rare in most cases. The soundtrack was apt with the calculations the team made before performing the actual act. Based on his interview on the special features: "Passion knows no bounds...fighting for a dream...living intensely is a magnificent way of living..and is difficult, one has to fight for it."
Special features were an added treat to the inspiring documentary in which maybe a select few would appreciate. No need to have either an unstable character/creature or a gun/hunted man to create thrilling scenes; all it takes is creative storytelling, re-enactments and pictures. Shots taken from the actual high wire walking speaks volumes of how a single person can perform an act so beautiful, special, and unbelievable devotion (part of the movie, waiting 3 hours until the roving guards in the Twin Towers are away). Man on Wire is brilliantly executed with themes of showmanship (made more performances more than 60 times after the Twin Towers walk based on his interview), friendship and purpose.
