Man on Wire (2008)

I don't really "get" people like Philippe Petit, star of this documentary. He's excitable and upbeat and I'd probably want to slap him if I spent more than 10 minutes or so in the same room with him. I have the feeling that people like Petit look at people like me as "life wasters" -- as though if we're not constantly searching for the next bit of derring-do that may end our lives we may as well not have one at all.

My dislike for Petit and his Roberto Benigni-level bounciness at awards shows aside, this film is really something. The challenge -- walking a tightrope between the newly-erected World Trade Center towers -- took years of planning, persuasion, and practice. Then they needed tons of luck and help. Petit's enthusiasm is infectious and I can understand how he could cast a spell that would make so many willing to risk arrest in order to be a part of the plan. The story is well-told and truly exciting. I was actually moved by the end.

Also, it should be said, that the reenactments were so amazingly done that I assumed them to be actual footage of Petit practicing in the '70s -- thinking "good thing they owned a camera and thought to shoot this stuff!"

A-