Dir. James Marsh, UK, 2008, 94 mins
Cast: Philippe Petit, Jean-Francois Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix, Ardis Campbell, Paul McGill
Review by
Joyce Dundas
There is no doubt the subject of this documentary, the eponymous Man on Wire, is eccentric, visionary and really a bit of a pain in the tail, but the film is all the better for it. Philippe Petit, the self-confessed artistic criminal, famously walked a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York while these iconic buildings were under construction in 1974. Here he gets to tell the story in his own words, and Quel Surprise! does he have lots to say. Luckily, he is interesting, funny and hugely entertaining.
You may think the film would be sad, given the eventual fate of the buildings, but the filmmakers avoid sadness. It is extremely funny at some points – the gang's breaching of security to get to the top of the structures is silent-film slapstick in its comedy – with the actors' reconstructions paying great respect to the original footage of this breathtaking act. The original footage from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the owner of the buildings, and stills from Petit's own collection are worth seeing in themselves.
The statistics are also worth noting: his balance pole was 26ft long, the gap crossed was 138ft, the wire was three-quarters of an inch thick, and he finally made eight trips in 45 minutes. (He only came down when he thought the winds from police helicopters might blow him off.)
Taming the void in between the structures was the goal. Petit was not out to stun the world and be famous, well not originally, he claims he saw a picture of the towers being built and he knew it was his fate to meet them. He and his team moved to New York and planned his derring-do, for that is what it is. As their story is told, there is a wonderful sense of suspense as the audience is carried along right up to the moment his wire walk is on screen. When he simply looks over the edge and the audience is given a clear view of life on the wire, 1350ft up, it is clear that the big screen is the best medium for the sense of vertigo it invokes.
The story after his act is just as riveting. His team do not quite reach his levels of fame. Petit's loyalty to both friends and loved-ones is also quite clear. There is true emotion as his cohorts at the time relate their stories.
Like The Bridge, Eric Steel's 2006 documentary about the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, this film shows how structures can inspire human behaviour, demand some kind of interaction, albeit very different interaction in these two documentaries.
Of course, it is impossible to review the film without mentioning the September 11 attacks and destruction of the towers. The New Yorker echoed its famous black towers on black background cover that was its memorial edition with a picture of Petit crossing a void from nowhere to nowhere on its September 11 2006 anniversary cover.
The film never dwells on the attack, but doesn't ignore it either. The most portentous and poignant moment is when the police officer who watched this historic feat says that they all had the feeling they were watching something that they would never see again, the man on wire. A definite goose-bump moment in a technically and emotionally brilliant documentary.
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