day 22 - favorite documentary
Man on Wire
For a long time, I couldn't watch anything that had to do with the World Trade Center towers. I couldn't see images of them without getting upset, imagining the people jumping, thinking of the lives lost, remembering that awful day. It made me so angry whenever I felt that their image was being exploited for a cheap emotional or political response. (I'm looking at you, Munich.)
I felt less raw about the whole thing after more time passed and could at least handle images of the towers, as long as they were tasteful and didn't sneak up on me. I admit when I went back and watched the "All For the Best" scene from Godspell where they're tromping around NYC circa 1973, I found myself looking for the towers and ended up bursting into tears at the end of it. Just go right to about 3:30 in the video, if you want to see what I mean. (And yes, that is Victor Garber. ♥)
By the time I saw stills from Man on Wire, I thought, "Holy shit, I need to see this film." The images were breathtaking.
That is a man named Philippe Petit and yes, it's what it looks like. He is on a tightrope between the towers. I wondered how in the world I'd never heard about this.
It is a beautiful documentary. I came away from it feeling that Petit celebrated the towers while they were still there in a way that nobody ever had and, of course, in a way nobody ever can again (though 9/11 isn't mentioned in the film once). In addition to being extraordinarily dangerous, the stunt was highly illegal, so it plays out a bit like a heist film. There is a nice mix of reenactments and actual footage from Petit's preparations and the walk itself. I'm terrified of heights, so I spent much of the film gripping the side of the sofa.
Whoever put the trailer together is also a genius. I dig it up on youtube periodically and am always reminded of how much I love the film.
("There is no why.")
For a long time, I couldn't watch anything that had to do with the World Trade Center towers. I couldn't see images of them without getting upset, imagining the people jumping, thinking of the lives lost, remembering that awful day. It made me so angry whenever I felt that their image was being exploited for a cheap emotional or political response. (I'm looking at you, Munich.)
I felt less raw about the whole thing after more time passed and could at least handle images of the towers, as long as they were tasteful and didn't sneak up on me. I admit when I went back and watched the "All For the Best" scene from Godspell where they're tromping around NYC circa 1973, I found myself looking for the towers and ended up bursting into tears at the end of it. Just go right to about 3:30 in the video, if you want to see what I mean. (And yes, that is Victor Garber. ♥)
By the time I saw stills from Man on Wire, I thought, "Holy shit, I need to see this film." The images were breathtaking.
That is a man named Philippe Petit and yes, it's what it looks like. He is on a tightrope between the towers. I wondered how in the world I'd never heard about this.
It is a beautiful documentary. I came away from it feeling that Petit celebrated the towers while they were still there in a way that nobody ever had and, of course, in a way nobody ever can again (though 9/11 isn't mentioned in the film once). In addition to being extraordinarily dangerous, the stunt was highly illegal, so it plays out a bit like a heist film. There is a nice mix of reenactments and actual footage from Petit's preparations and the walk itself. I'm terrified of heights, so I spent much of the film gripping the side of the sofa.
Whoever put the trailer together is also a genius. I dig it up on youtube periodically and am always reminded of how much I love the film.
Click to view("There is no why.")