To me, it’s really so simple, that life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope.
– Phillipe Petit
I watched “Man on Wire” with a friend last night. What an amazing movie! Speaking of storytelling, Phillipe is an awesomely engaging storyteller. He really sucks you into the scene. Granted, walking on a rope from one of the Twin Towers to the other is a pretty awesome feat, but his animated face and body make you feel like you are also sneaking past security.. or feeling the rush of adrenaline as you step from the corner of the building on to the rope.
Living life on the edge… it doesn’t mean getting into trouble, breaking laws or causing harm to people. It means living life to the fullest and never regretting a single moment, but learning and growing from it. I guess it also doesn’t mean act first and think later, which it might sound like. On the contrary, Mr Petit was very calculating (with the guidance of the often more practical members of his team of course). It’s not that life is a game and it’s not that you try to outsmart the gods. It’s more that, out of respect and awe for the fragility and beauty of life, you act to push the limits within reason.. and you don’t settle for less.
If this film doesn’t inspire, I don’t know what can..
The end was a bit sad.. seems that some friendships were lost in the completion of this feat and in the making of the star tightrope walker.. I like that the film didn’t forget to include this part..
