MUBI

Man on Wire

Grade: B
Cast: Philippe Petit
Director: James Marsh
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and nudity, and drug references.
Runtime: 94 min
Release Company: Magnolia Pictures

If Man on Wire feels like a heist film, it’s because Philippe Petit is something of a criminal. After being arrested by the NYPD for “trespassing” when he walked across a wire set between the Twin Towers in 1974, Petit purloined the arresting officer’s wallet – just because he could. Then there’s the Ocean’s-style setup for his stunt, involving eight months of meticulous planning: studying blueprints, reconnaissance, creating fake IDs and even a ‘working replica’ of the roofs of the Towers for practice. Petit was so admired for his incredible stunt that his ‘crimes’ became utterly smothered by the outpouring of affection and praise once the media got ahold of his story – opulently named ‘the artistic crime of the century’ – all charges dropped. Excellent! This situation elucidates why Petit’s story is so romantically appealing: follow your heart, even if it means defying the world, and the positive effects will bleed into everything around you. Good thing he hadn’t fallen.

Wire is composed of a very generous amount of video footage and photography following Petit’s wirewalking progression over his life and video interviews with all the principles involved in helping Petit pull off this stunt. Most subjects have the same thing to say: “My role was slight. He was crazy. It was incredible.” Wire builds momentum as the narrative nears The Tower Job (my term, not theirs) – which is to say, Wire improves once Marsh gets to the nitty-gritty and stops taking up our time with o-la-la exposition and first-year film school dramatizations. To his credit, however, Marsh demonstrated his appreciation for fellow British documentarian Peter Greenaway by borrowing some wonderful Michael Nyman themes – notably from The Draughtsman’s Contract and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover – and threw in some pretty Satie piano pieces for good measure. Thanks, Marsh. Man on Wire is Marsh’s 3rd film… and he’s coming along fairly well, it seems. Wisconsin Death Trip was an intriguing, if directionless, docu and The King was a proficient enough drama. Marsh can’t seem to avoid relying on heavy sentimentality, namely in his fictional recreations – this crime is unforgivable. If, however, he keeps finding documentary subjects whose lives are grand anecdotes in the making, even those crimes can be smothered by positive word of mouth.

Written by David Ashley

This review @ my blog

Really wonderfull documentary and re-enactment in many ways. Considering that the world press&media presents daily world& current events that are at least dis-enchanting and are presented either as a smoothed or as a harshed reality that`s somehow filtered in the battleground of interests beneath, this is an engaging ( perhaps a little bit idyllic ) and wonderfull tribute to an act of EXCELLENCE ( also bold, mad, crazy, risky) that otherwise would have had it`s 15 min treatment as fact diverse and media sensationality ( due also to it`s nature) .

But in 94 minutes we remember what great gestures one could make in his life offering him a goal and accomplishments that doesn`t come otherwise by not dreaming, thinking, following a daring purpose yet living contained….

There are people who love professional mimes, jugglers and contortionists. I am not one of them. People like me don’t really understand why anyone would want to turn miming into a profession, aside from the fact that someone would have to pay me to pretend being trapped in a box all day. The same goes for tightrope walkers. The marvel of Man on Wire is that it makes sense of a nonsensical stunt, describing with clarity and eloquence what would drive a man to risk death for a seemingly mad, if not pointless, pursuit.

In 1974, long before “9/11” entered our lexicon, Philippe Petit walked a high wire strung between the two towers of the World Trade Centre. The Frenchman had been born with a compulsion to climb things. Self-taught in the art of tightrope walking, he garnered some publicity by walking a high wire illicitly strung between the towers of the Notre Dame de Paris and another between two pylons of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. However, his ultimate goal was to conquer the World Trade Centre, long before it had even been built.

Through a seamless mix of actual footage of the preparation, extraordinary re-enactments and present day interviews, James Marsh’s documentary unfolds like a slick heist movie. The Two Towers, still under construction, are cased meticulously by Petit and his motley crew of co-conspirators. Through ingenuity and luck, the team evades building security and tackles the logistical nightmare of stringing the tightrope under cover of night across the 43-metre gap between buildings, 413 metres above the ground.

Only by having Petit himself on camera — charismatic, charming and infectiously passionate — does it become evident why anyone would help him with this craziness. He sees these high wire acts as moments of intense focus and clarity, beautiful in their purity of intent, untouchable and fleeting.

Despite the obvious thrills of the death-defying stunt, the most emotionally affecting moments are in the aftermath. Everyone involved emerges a changed person. When Petit’s loyal friend and longtime collaborator Jean-Louis Blondeau suddenly breaks down into tears, it seems to convey the price paid for the risks taken that day, the toll of another man’s passion. Petit himself seems to have attained his own nirvana — fearless, unfettered and still only 60-years young.

Last but not least is the shadow of 9/11. It is felt but never mentioned in the film, which was a wise, conscious decision by the director. As Roger Ebert writes, “Man on Wire is about the vanquishing of the towers by bravery and joy, not by terrorism.”

As far as I know, the memory of Philippe Petit’s successful attempt to tightrope across the World Trade Center was rediscovered after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Man On Wire is a brilliant account of what happened as well as the extensive planning behind it. It’s a perfect memoir to Philippe’s daredevil act and an inspiration for those who dare to defy the impossible. It’s one of many reasons as to why it deserved the Oscar for Best Doc Feature.

(…) Le Funambule restitue à merveille cette excitation et repose sur quelques principes essentiels. Le film est composé de scènes de reconstitutions, d’images d’archives, et d’interviews des protagonistes de cette incroyable entreprise. Ce qui captive, c’est cet esprit comploteur qui caractérise la narration. (…)

Lire la critique complète : http://laternamagika.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/le-funambule-man-on-wire-de-james-marsh/

An amazing true story is stylishly told in this well-crafted – if overrated – documentary. Through candid interviews and stylized reenactments, director James Marsh spins a story that is as much about passion and dreams as it is a heist story. The film’s biggest flaw is that it goes on too long, even at 90 minutes – it drags in several places and could have been more effective it were more concise. Strong Philip Glass knock-off score by Michael Nyman.

Simply exhilarating. There is something that is just so breath-taking about tight rope walkers; maybe the fact they’re almost defying gravity? Either way I could watch Philippe all day long. He’s very charismatic and eccentric, but he has told his story a million times by now and, well, he tight rope walked the Twin Towers. That’s a pretty big feat.

I like the structure of the documentary. I like the B&W recreation footage of them sneaking into the towers, of them hiding under the tarp for god knows how long. They interweave these scenes with the back story of Philippe, as well as his group members (including one hilarious guy who was “pretty sure” that he was high when they first met). These juxtapositions may bother some, but I was fine with it. All in all, it’s worthy of all the accolades it received.