Man on Wire
Man On Wire (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/) is a documentary about a Philipe Petit, a tightrope walker, performance artist, and "criminal". Back in the 1970's, Petit and his team would spend months figuring out how to rig a rope guerrilla style, so that he could walk (and perform) across places like the Notre Dame cathedral towers, a bridge over traffic in Sydney Australia, and finally, the top of the World Trade Center Towers. (No net!) They are all arrested, of course, each time, but that is part of "the game" for them, and so is the thrill of "death literally being so close." (The little rebel in me would TOTALLY want to participate in something like this (though not as the rope walker.) This documentary has everything a good film needs: really engaging characters, a thrilling tale, and relvancy to our own lives (in this case, the metaphor of tightrope walking over the world!)
Ok, seriously, this guy Philip used to ride a unicycle all over Paris, sometimes while juggling! He looked at these performances as bank robberies: how to get in and set up without being caught before pulling it off. The editing is non-linear and combines interviews, archival footage, and reverent re-creations. This is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time. Even though there are little moments of "wtf" here and there....
I'm waiting to post my Top 10 Movies of the Year list until I cross a few more off my To See list. And boy, am I glad I waited until I had seen Man On Wire.
Ok, seriously, this guy Philip used to ride a unicycle all over Paris, sometimes while juggling! He looked at these performances as bank robberies: how to get in and set up without being caught before pulling it off. The editing is non-linear and combines interviews, archival footage, and reverent re-creations. This is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a long time. Even though there are little moments of "wtf" here and there....
I'm waiting to post my Top 10 Movies of the Year list until I cross a few more off my To See list. And boy, am I glad I waited until I had seen Man On Wire.