Must-watch: Man on Wire

Today's yet another holiday in Thailand for King Chulalongkorn Day. I'm bent on watching movies this long weekend. Thanks to torrents I still have about half a dozen films lined up including such classics as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Midnight Cowboy, and Dancer in the Dark.

A few minutes ago, I just finished watching Man on Wire (2008), this year's winner of the Best Documentary Features in the Oscars.

As the summary on IMDB says: "On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French wire walker, juggler, and street performer days shy of his 25th birthday, spent 45 minutes walking, dancing, kneeling, and lying on a wire he and friends strung between the rooftops of the Twin Towers."

The story is told through interviews of Petit himself and his accomplices in the daring act. Petit narrates the experience with animated theatrics. He says: "If I die what a wonderful death. To die in the exercise of your passion."

His friends who shared Petit's crazy dream also effectively recounts the tense moments that lead to the daredevil feat that captured the world's imagination.

The media obviously feasted on his story and Petit's reaction was: "I did something magnificent and mysterious and I get (asked by the press) a practical "why". And the beauty of it is that I didn't have any "why".

The documentary was mainly about pursuing one's passion, no matter how whimsical and insane it is.

At the same time, it was also a paean of sorts to the World Trade Center; how it managed to spark people's fancy, Petit's case being perhaps just one of the more crazy ones... and we all know how others interpreted the WTC that led tragic consequences.

I invite you to watch the trailer below: