man on wire

[pauraque_bk]

_hannelore and I saw the movie Man on Wire, a documentary about the guy who strung, and walked across, a highwire between the WTC towers in 1974. We both enjoyed it but I think I liked it more than she did.

Unsurprisingly the guy was pretty crazy, and probably the most interesting aspect was exploring how a charismatic madman got his friends to agree to be involved in something so ridiculously dangerous. The accomplices recall how they struggled with wondering how they could live with themselves if it went wrong and he was killed, and for some the emotions are as vivid today as they were 30 years ago.

The later destruction of the towers is never alluded to, and the director apparently said he left it out because it would ruin the beauty of the story. I agree that it was better not to directly mention it, but not for that reason... Everyone who sees the movie knows exactly what happened; it's a rich subtext that can't possibly be ignored. Directly stating it would have been like a beginning fanfic writer starting their story by ham-handedly informing you that Harry Potter is a teenaged wizard with glasses.

Comments

[idlerat.livejournal.com]

I wants to see that movie.

[pauraque]

I hope you do, and let us know what you think!

[lilacsigil.livejournal.com]

There was an article about that doco in my Saturday paper - guess what was the first and last thing they mentioned?

[pauraque]

Can't say I'm surprised! But that is the place for such discussion, in commentary on the movie, just not in the movie itself.