Man On Wire

August 13, 2008


Reminder: One movie ticket equals two drinks, so there is no reason not to see Man On Wire, the James Marsh directed documentary about Philippe Petit and his siege of the Twin Towers for tightrope-walking purposes. Throughout the movie we were trying to figure out all the layers of subtext and symbolism and stuff, and then Petit turns to us and says, "You Americans, you always want a reason for everything," and we sort of felt like chumps. But go check it out, because even when the soundtrack gets a little pushy (maybe we don't want to feel momentous right now), it will still make you nostalgic for an old-timey New York where cops had to visibly suppress their excitement (beneath excellent mustaches, no less) about jumpy little French men who did things for the sake of doing them. Also: props to anyone who doesn't get vertigo when they show Petit's foot first reaching for that wire 1,368 feet in the air.

Posted: August 13, 2008
Man On Wire