Ca veut dire rein, donc watch if you have nothing else to do

First off Man on Wire, the tale of Philippe Petit successfully spends almost an hour on a tight rope between the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center.  It would be called Man Fell From Wire if it were otherwise.  So this is a documentary not an obituary.  This is the documentary of a crime.

I watched it because I kind of wanted to get a bit of fright.  I have only a few minor phobias, but falling from a height is the most important (I have no problems being in lofty places, just am a bit blanched by the idea of falling from them).  I got more and less than what I expected.

Man on Wire is a framing narrative.  The main story is the way the half a dozen men were able to string over 200 feet of cable between the towers so that Philippe could perform his talent in August 1974 after the towers were at least finished on the outside.  Within this is a general biography of Mr. Petit and some of his other tricks.  These other tricks were the “more” that I got.  More on this in a moment.

I will not go into what is the real plot of the film which would give far too much away and is the reason for watching it in the first place, one would assume.

The documentary is a hundred minutes long.  It would be a dull tale if the only story involved his last great act.  The film also shows his walk between the two main towers of Notre Dame in Paris and two bridge supports over the Sidney Harbor Bridge.  I think the main reason I liked this footage is that there was essentially no back story and the events were filmed in motion (I’m a photographer so movement is not required, and skill understood; still it makes so little sense that Mr. Petit and his team would spend years planning this event and not think to bring a super 8 camera if nothing else).  The filmed tricks were treats instead of anti-climaxes.

The “less” I got was just how ticked off I got.  I wasn’t expecting to be hacked when I started it; I thought it would be a lark.  The story is one man’s obsession with committing a crime and those abetting same.  More than one person backs out because they determine it is too dangerous.  They were facing potential felonies if they succeeded and potential manslaughter charges if he fell.  Again, Man on Wire is not the documentary of a French street performer and consummate “wire-walker.” 

It seems petty, perhaps, but these sorts of ‘feats’ are intended to draw attention only.  Mr. Petit walked about half a mile, altogether, about a quarter of a mile above the pavement and survived to tell the tale.  Great.  He was arrested and asked why he did it.  “No reason.”  I suppose that “because I’m an egomaniac willing to risk my life and the liberty of others—volunteers though they may be—to do something no one will ever top” would be too solid an answer.  “No reason” is the same idiotic piece of reasoning that left out the moving camera footage.

Here is a man deciding to do something beyond comprehension if you get down to the brass.  Yet the only thing we have is a couple hundred (at most) photographs of the event.  I can say that at least the title isn’t a lie: it doesn’t say Man Moves on Wire.

The main reason I consider it a crime film as opposed to a triumph of human abilities or whatever is that, to this day—unless it was lost in the edits—Mr. Petit gives no reason for doing it.  He is all method and madness but the motive is lost.  The film gives silly detail after detail of the way the feat was put together, but what would be a major piece for me is left only to assumption.

I watched it a couple of days ago and have spent a bit of time playing with a very energetic and imaginative 4 year old (his world is made in his head, toys are props at best).  He put together this bit of Lego construction and brings it to me.  “What is it?”  “It’s nothing.”  I looked at him and just said “Je l’ fabriquais, ce n’est rein.”  I made/did it and it is nothing.

Recommended:
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