Comparing & Contrasting Man on Wire Review

Many of us have read film reviews by Roger Ebert during his life.  If you haven't you must have been living under a rock.  If that's actually the case, then welcome to the world!  Roger Ebert was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years.  Our reviews do share a lot of similarities, but we also have different opinions on certain aspects of the film.

In both of our reviews, we straight away acknowledge the fact that we have a fear of heights.  That fear is also what ultimately what drew us both into watching this documentary.  We are both drawn into Petit's story and in awe that he did what he set out to do: walk a high-wire between The Twin Towers.  Philipe Petit's passionate energy about the event was clear in his present day interviews and it was something we were both intrigued by.   

While we share the same reason of why we were initially drawn into the documentary, our thoughts on the movie as a whole is where we differ in opinions.  Ebert praised the use of flashbacks by saying how combined with photos and re-enactments helped to "flesh out the story."  I was more critical on the flashbacks by saying how they felt out of place and brought me out of the story.  His review includes more backstory on the event while I went straight into my opinions.  He explained exactly how they got into The World Trade Center, while I didn't go into too much detail about it.  I also spoiled the use of the bow and arrow while he was more mysterious about it by claiming if we don't already know how they did it then he won't tell us.  

Overall, we shared the same reasons of why we were drawn into the film, but our opinions of how well certain aspects were executed is where we differed in our reviews.  As a whole we both enjoyed it, but I was more critical.  Wow.  Never thought I would say I was more critical than Roger Ebert..

Here is the link for Roger Ebert's review if you are curious!: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/man-on-wire-2008

Man On Wire Documentary

"To me, it is so simple. that life should be lived on the edge of life.  You have to exercise rebellion.  To refuse, to tapper yourself to rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself and see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge.  And then you are going to live your life on a tight rope." - Philipe Petit.

Maybe this wasn't the best documentary to watch as a person with a fear of heights.... Or maybe it was exactly the right one.  To me, nobody in their right mind would attempt to walk a high-wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.  And yet, someone did.  On August 7th, 1974, a French high-wire artist named Philipe Petit walked on a tight rope between two of the highest buildings in New York.  As soon as I found that out I had two reactions.  My first reaction was immediately thinking, "Ok, this guy is insane."  My second one was being instantly intrigued by this story.  The idea that someone actually did this made me want to know what possessed them to do it.

 I was surprised by how many times I felt like I was watching a heist movie instead of a documentary. We got to see the planning that went into it as well as re-enactments of the actual "heist".  Every questions that flowed through my head was answered.  You may be wondering how exactly they got a wire from one tower to another.  The answer... a bow and arrow.  Yeah, you read that right.  He's Katniss Everdeen.  You also may might be wondering how they managed to sneak into The World Trade Center.  The answer... several steps that I don't want to spoil for you because it's insane how much was involved in this process. 

The scene that really stuck out to me was, yes, the Katniss Everdeen moment.  The members of the heist gave present day interviews reflecting on the experience and they spent a lot of time discussing how they were going to connect the wire to both towers.  They came up with several ideas like using a helicopter or a fishing pole.  The team finally landed on the bow and arrow idea and real footage of them practicing archery was included.  One member would shoot the arrow and the others would run to find it to see how far it went.   Side note.. I'm convinced they somehow knew there would be a movie made about them.  I mean why else would they record themselves running after arrows and tacking each other to the ground?!  Okay rant over.  Focus, bow and arrow!  We now return to our regularly scheduled program.  The actors in the re-enactment scenes also recreated a small portion of their archery skills.  Their plan didn't go exactly to plan as they had to hide from guards for several hours, so they had to shoot the arrow in the dark.  The actor aimed the arrow and let it fly.  Of course they didn't show they arrow flying through the air and landing on the other tower.  The scene cut to present day Philipe re-enacting how he had to frantically search for the arrow in the dark. 

When I first heard they used a bow and arrow, I was instantly skeptical.  I really didn't believe it would actually, but it miraculously did!  I know from personal experience that archery is not easy. Watching movies like The Hunger Games makes archery look so much easier then it actually is.  I took one class and I walked into it thinking it would be easy and that I would be great at it.  Oh was I wrong.  A part of my down fall is that it actually involves some upper body muscles that I don't I have.  Now you see why I didn't believe their plan would actually work.  And the fact that the only had one shot to do it only added to my skepticism.  And yet it worked.  Whether it be luck or an act of God, the arrow made it across to the other tower.   

After watching this documentary, I was left with a lot of questions.  Why did the people involved agree to help Philipe in the first place?  Did Annie ever find out that Philipe cheated on her right after he got released from jail?  (Yes, a black and white montage of it is included.  No, really, I'm serious.  And again how is there video of this?!)  Did the group ever reconnect or did they fall out of touch after completing what they set out to do?  How many years of practice did Philipe do to be able to be that confident on a high-wire?  

I was also left with an increased fear of heights after I watched this documentary.  The next day I was even hesitant around stairs.. yeah, stairs.  I just kept picturing myself falling down them (which I have done) and just lying there on the floor with several broken bones.  Yeah I know I have an over active imagination.  Besides that though, I now have a new found curiosity about high-wire walkers.  I want do some research into the background of it and who the first high-wire walker was.    

The use of actual photos and videos of Philipe walking made the viewer feel like they were actually witnesses to something that happened 30 years ago.   The fast pace of the documentary allowed the audience to feel exactly what Philipe's team did.  The thrill, the sense of urgency, the terror of almost being caught all made it feel real for the audience.  The documentary did lose traction when the flashbacks weren't as interesting as the actual heist.  Sometimes it actually did bring me out of the experience when the flashbacks didn't connect to what was happening during that particular stage of the heist.  I have yet to find a movie/TV show that doesn't struggle with flashbacks, so I know it's a hard thing to do right.  Every film has its faults, but this documentaries faults didn't stop me from enjoying it as a whole.  I would recommend this documentary to anyone who wants to know about an intriguing story.   A word of caution though.  If you don't already have a pre-existing fear of heights, you may develop one after watching this film.  You have been warned.        

  

Words Have the Power to Change Us

Have you ever opened a new Word document with the intention of writing for hours on end and then suddenly realizing your mind is blank?  Have you ever just typed the heading and then just closed the document accepting defeat?  Don't lie... We've all done it.  I mean I did it just now before I started typing this post!  If you claim you have never experienced this feeling, you are lying to yourself.   When we close the document we tell ourselves, "Oh we'll get back to it later."  That's where the problem lies.  "Later" has a different meaning to all of us.  It could mean hours later or it could mean weeks.  Now it's not just writers who experience this phenomenon.  Every type of artist can relate to that feeling.  Painters could step in front of an easel with their paints all ready to go and then BOOM!... their mind goes blank.  You may be thinking, "What does painting have to do with writing?  They're totally different!!"  Actually, they're more similar than you think.  Now if we treated writing like designing, then it would be a whole new world!  Insert Aladdin song here.

 Writers don't use paint for storytelling.  Their tool is their words.  Each word written is like a new stroke of paint.  Every word is essential to creating the overall story or picture.  A single word has the power to change the readers viewpoint of a character or place.  If a scene is happening outside and the writer provides no description for it, then we all come up with our own interpretation.  Some may think it's sunny while others may think it's on the brink of a hurricane.  Now if the writer uses the word "gloomy" for description, it changes everything.  The mood of the scene is changed to reflect its environment.  It's no longer happy or tragic it has underlying tension along an added sense of darkness all because of one word.

The entire writing experience would be different if it was treated like designing.  The placement of each word would be as meticulous as each paint stroke.  Each stroke is essential to the overall image just like each word is essential to the story being told.  Sure the process will probably take a lot longer if we're constantly worrying about which word will fit where and how will it affect the overall story.  But let me tell you a little secret... There's such thing as a delete button.  If your like me and you stress out over word placement from the start, the delete button is a gift from the Heavens!  Focus on getting all your thoughts out first, and then go back to freak out about which word should go where.  If you approach writing like your painting, then it will be a different experience entirely.  You get to create a picture using your words, and if you succeed then that's something to be proud of. If you touch someone in a meaningful way along the way, then it makes all of the struggles worth it.   And we all know words have the power to change us.  No, I didn't come up with that on my own. Yes, it's a quote from a book.... i.e Clockwork Angel.

*Taps Microphone* Testing.... Testing

Testing.... Testing..... 1..... 2...... 3......