..and all I have to say is: Wow. Just wow. That movie was absolutely brilliant. From beginning to end, “Man On Wire” held my attention. I was absolutely smitten with Petit’s rebellious view of his high-wire walk and the notion of “illegal but not inherently wicked or harmful.” As I said in my previous post about Let the Great World Spin, the walker, who is Phillipe Petit, truly lived. He was not bound by the laws imposed on him by society; rather, he lived his life as he saw fit and was a source of immense inspiration to those who witnessed his feat. The sense of inspiration I got from this movie was absolutely incredible.
The ending, however, was also a tad depressing; Petit’s dream was not achieved without sacrifice and that sacrifice came in the form of his friendships and his relationship. Petit’s sole focus throughout this endeavor was to fulfill his dream; he didn’t show any regard for what his friends or even his girlfriend wanted to do with their lives. His friends lived his dream and did their utmost to help him. This is especially seen in Jean-Louis, who stayed by Petit’s side even when all hope seemed lost and when Albert had abandoned him. It was sad to find out that they fell apart after the event, especially after such a show of love and dedication. Petit’s disregard for his companions is also shown in his treatment of Annie; as soon as he is released from prison, Petit sees it fit to cheat on her, because of his celebrity. I felt that was rather cruel of him, especially since she had dedicated her life to him.
All in all, a great movie about a truly legendary feat but with the moral that there is no achievement without sacrifice.
Maybe to him it was not a sacrifice. He made the decision after the walk to leave his friends behind. Perhaps the stardom and fame that came his way changed him, or possibly the documentary was made in a very biased way. I had just looked up the relationships between Petit and his friends after the walk across the towers and came across something quite stunning. Whether it is true or not, here it is :
“First, it should be understood that Philippe did NOT desert his friends the moment he came down from the wire at the World Trade Center.
The director chose to edit the interviews in such a way that their tears are mistaken as coming for the loss of a friend, rather than the remembrance of a moment of ecstasy that will never be repeated in their lives. In fact, they too, were all living in the moment when they were being interviewed. In fact, Philippe introduced the director to all of his friends, and gathered them in Paris so they could all be interviewed at the same time for the film.
For forty years, Philippe remained best friends with Jean-Louis Blondeau (who did not help carry the heavy cable, that was Jean-François Heckel; Jean-Louis did shoot the arrow, but his rigging of the wire was entirely as per Philippe’s instructions), as well as keeping in close contact with his then girlfriend, Annie Allix and a long-distance relationship with Jean-François who moved to Africa shortly after the walk.
It is unfortunate that the director in the aim of adding poignancy to his film chose to so clearly distort a lifetime of friendships.
One should watch the interview with Philippe Petit on the extras of the DVD if they’d like to know the real truth.”
Source : Pyschologytoday.com
I wasn’t aware that the film had been edited in such a way. It is really sad that the director decided to take liberties that extreme. In fact, if it is true, the film very heavily misrepresented Petit’s character.
In regards to sacrifice: Whether he still considered it sacrifice or not, Petit did lose something (should the film accurately portray the friendships). Even before he had attained stardom, Petit was nigh obsessed with walking across the towers and let this goal consume his life. He was very lucky to have friends that supported him, and if he truly left them behind after the walk, he had lost something precious, whether he realized it or not.
Thanks for the eye-opening perspective on the film, Kevin! This really makes me re-evaluate my opinion of Petit.
Hi Shahrouk and Kevin,
That really was an interesting read. I think the director could have done without adding all the drama. Petit’s feat was quite sensational by itself and the documentary didn’t need to spice it up by adding salacious details about Petit’s personal life.
Regarding sacrifice, I agree with Shahrouk. If the film is to be believed as is, the loss of such kindred souls in his life, who carried him on their shoulders as he reached for his dream, is indeed a great loss, a true sacrifice. He doesn’t need to realize it for it to be evident.