"It's impossible....let's get to work."

On August 7th, 1974 young Frenchmen Philippe Petit went from virtual anonymity to worldwide celebrity in a matter of 30 minutes. Petit committed what came to be known as the “artistic crime of the century” when he danced across a wire he had illegally strung between the two world trade center towers. On-lookers stood agape as they marveled at the man 1,350 feet in the air appearing to float across the sky. He was truly inspired, truly brave, and almost certainly mad. James Marsh’s mesmerizing documentary Man on Wire tells the intriguing story of one man’s obsession to do something that challenges the realm of possibility. Through a combination of archival footage, dramatized re-enactments, and interviews with Petit and his crew, Marsh attempts to tell the story of how Petit was able to pull off the ultimate ‘heist' and accomplish an incredible task. The result is a film that stirs the emotions, and quickens the pulse.

Philippe Petit’s obsession with the World Trade Center towers began before they were even built. As a youngster, the story tells us that he first learned of their upcoming construction in a magazine article while waiting in a dentist’s office. There is no other explanation from this point as to what exactly drove Petit to do what he did, other than that the towers seemed to be calling him to do something magnificent. Marsh brilliantly leaves the ‘origin story’ of this character virtually absent. There is literally nothing we can point to in order to explain the veracity with which he pursued his outlandish goal. Marsh ultimately decides it is better to offer insight to this man the same way Petit responds to a reporter upon his arrest. When asked why he committed the crime, he simply answers: “There is no why”. Instead there is a zeal, a furor for living life on the edge in such a way that to die is only worth doing, if it is in the throes of something which you are passionate about. The story is as taut and thrilling as any crime caper movie. The suspense is so heightened that there are times you will literally remind yourself “It’s ok. I know he’s going to come out alive!”

Man on Wire does what few films, let alone documentaries, are able to. It plays on all of your emotions, and still leaves with you the same sense of wonder that caused all those New York passers-by to gawk upward into the sky that magical day. Ultimately, Petit is neither a hero, nor a tragic case study, but a parable. In a way in which he never probably planned, his fanciful ideals call us to look at our lives and see the possibilities that lie before us in ways we never thought possible. The film’s message, in as much as it even has one, is probably best described in the words of Petit himself. “Life should be lived on the edge. See everyday as a true challenge, and then and only then do you live your life on a tightrope.”

5/5