Among my other shortcomings I do not have a head for heights, which made a film about a tight rope walker difficult for me to watch. Add to my discomfort the fact that the man was walking on a wire strung between the towers of the World Trade Center (the world's tallest building at the time) and I had some trouble keeping my eyes on the screen. 450 meters above street level equals 1650 feet in old money and that's a long way to fall. A French dude by the curious last name of Petit ("small" in English), did just that in the summer of 1974, and they made a film about it:
It is a documentary film that combines all the best human emotions in a drama; suspense, love, humor and did I mention suspense? Petit assembles a team of "losers" in the realistic estimation of his best friend and between the four of them they practice for and assemble the ton of equipment needed to do the deed. The story is fascinating in itself, a combination of period movie films, photos and contemporary interviews. All this made more profound by the large absence of the towers in modern day New York.
It is a documentary film that combines all the best human emotions in a drama; suspense, love, humor and did I mention suspense? Petit assembles a team of "losers" in the realistic estimation of his best friend and between the four of them they practice for and assemble the ton of equipment needed to do the deed. The story is fascinating in itself, a combination of period movie films, photos and contemporary interviews. All this made more profound by the large absence of the towers in modern day New York. After his 45 minute walk on the wire Petit was arrested and released and he came away with a permanent pass to the observation deck at the World Trade Center. That was a moment in the darkness of the Tropic Cinema. Might as well have a pass to the dark side of the moon.
Even though I evade a great deal of the platitudes of modern life by not watching television, I have seen enough of the September 11th commemorations to wonder if anyone else is as annoyed as I am that the architect of the attack is free and is apparently enjoying robust good health in the hinterlands of Afghanistan, they say. I find it hard to accept that if the US government really wanted him in custody he would still be free and unharmed. But there we are.
I preferred to remember the date privately, and celebrate the World Trade Center towers by going to check out a movie that highlighted what a tremendous achievement their construction actually was. As much an achievement, and much more positive, than their destruction. Never forget? Is it really necessary to even think such a thought? Only the dead or those not yet born could possibly forget.
I preferred to remember the date privately, and celebrate the World Trade Center towers by going to check out a movie that highlighted what a tremendous achievement their construction actually was. As much an achievement, and much more positive, than their destruction. Never forget? Is it really necessary to even think such a thought? Only the dead or those not yet born could possibly forget.
