Man On Wire

Tightrope walker extraordinaire Philippe Petit in ‘Man On Wire’

With ‘Man On Wire’ British filmmaker James Marsh has made a wonderful study of his engrossing subject, french tightrope walker, Philippe Petit.

To tell its story the doco combines plenty of archival footage, lots of dramatic re-enactments, and intriguing interviews with the man himself, and the main players in his life.

‘Man On Wire’ charts a remarkable, almost predestined journey. The starting point is Petit as a quirky adolescent practising with tightropes in the park and winning the heart of an amazed girl who remains his companion for many years. The end point is his astonishing 1974 high-wire routine performed across New York City’s World Trade Centre Twin Towers.

The most intriguing parts of the journey lay in seeing how much work is involved in setting up for a tightrope climb…trying to get a feeling for how deeply focused Petit’s concentration must be when he climbs…of-course, his climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which caused a huge stir…and the sheer stealthiness and audacity involved in organising and carrying out the Twin Tower climb, which has been dubbed , ‘the greatest crime of the 20th century’.

What does the film reveal about Philippe Petit, the man?! The film reveals a man of many parts; clever…intense…obsessive…arrogant…analytical…fearless and daring…a master provocateur…a showman and much more. It’s funny but one of my favourite images of Petit from the film is of the playful, clownish Petit riding through Paris streets on a one wheel bicycle.

The film ends with a note of personal philisophy from Petit, along the lines of ‘you have to live life on the edge’. Well..being his life’s motto..of-course he would say that!

Highly recommended. ‘Man on Wire’ is coming to the end of its Sydney season, and is currently playing the Chauvel cinema at Paddington.

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