james marsh made this film presumably after reading petit's book, to reach the clouds. the story is compelling largely because petit's act so resembles nietzsche's ubermensch, or superman. moreover, the movie and the act are about a man daring, daring to risk everything in the name of an idea, this idea being about the beauty of a man on a high wire, and daring to defy convention, (and the law.)
new york city's finest arrived on scene within minutes and watched in amazement as they awaited petit's arrival atop the north tower. down below petit's girlfriend gazed intently into the sky and explained to others who gathered around her that there was a man up there, on a wire, between the towers, without a net. unable to see him because of the distance and the light of day, they stood transfixed none the less ready to praise him who would dare or mourn him who might die.
as a documentary marsh's film plays like a heist movie, (as advertised.) so much of what is captured is about how petit and his crew/friends, (who interestingly were no longer his friends soon after this event,) were able to access the roof of the towers. phony papers get them into the garage and working crew disguises help them go unnoticed inside the buildings.
nowadays 1974 represents a simpler time. petit would never succeed today in his quest and that is part of the film's attraction. petit's enthusiasm for walking the wire is and was contagious. in some respects the feat can be seen as meaningless, and it is. it did not cure blindness or anything. on the other hand, it is the daring that inspires. it is the single-minded willingness to achieve this goal strictly for the sake of the beauty of it, strictly for his own sense of the artistic, that captures the imagination.
man on wire is like a diversion just as petit's act was 34 years ago, a delightful diversion.
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