In the very early morning of August 7, 1974 in the middle of morning rush hour in New York City, commuters witnessed a man walking on air in-between the newly constructed World Trade Center towers. He wasn't really walking on air, of course, but from below, looking110 floors above and at well over 1,300 feet above them it looked to people on the ground as if he was. This man was Philippe Petit, a Parisian street artist performing the impossible and still considered by many as the artistic crime of the century--a high-wire act at the top of the world. For 45 minutes, Petit crossed between the north and south towers eight times before he was taken off and arrested for his actions.

Man On Wire is the new documentary telling the story of that moment in time and the events leading up to Petit’s execution of the daring feat. Director James Marsh has made a beautiful film that is part docudrama, part heist film because what Petit and his team pulled off was nothing short of a fantastic caper. His team consisted of his girlfriend, Annie, and best friends Jean-Francois and Jean-Louis, along with an Australian, two Americans, and an insurance executive who had an office in one of the towers. This last team member played the role of the “inside man.”

On August 6, these folks made it to the top of WTC, all the way up lugging a 450-pound cable and a 26-foot balancing pole along with them. Avoiding security guards and construction workers, they attached the cable in the dark and by dawn Petit was dancing on it without a safety net or safety harness high above a crowd of stunned onlookers, causing a huge sensation that stopped traffic in lower Manhattan. While Man On Wire tells this part of the story it also cuts away to tell the other incredible story of its planner and mastermind, Philippe Petit.

Nothing more than a street performer in France who rode unicycles, Petit did magic and pantomime. He also taught himself how to walk on a wire. He confesses that he has the mind of a criminal but has no mind to commit crimes (outside of trespassing, etc.). While sitting in his dentist’s office in 1968, he read about the construction of the World Trade Center and instantly knew what his life's work would be. He felt as if those towers were built for him to conquer and for the next 6 1/2 years would stop at nothing to do it. In preparation for New York he high-wired the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris while Mass was being performed and did Sydney, Australia’s Harbor Bridge during rush hour. He was making a name for himself but no one outside of his close-knit team would have ever thought the World Trade Center was next.

But he did it just as he had always planned and succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. After they arrested him, he was forced him into a series of psychological evaluations that he passed with flying colors, eventually prompting authorities to drop all charges. His actions astonished and delighted people and made him a celebrity, which he still maintains to this day at his home in France. Part of what makes this film so wonderful is Petit himself. He is terrific; a man full of life even while the grip of death is looming for him on the wire. The other great thing about this film is Marsh's choice not to bring in any talk of the demise of the WTC. The words “September 11th” are never spoken nor ever seen in this film. These towers are celebrated right along with the man who crossed them.

Man On Wire is a fascinating, perfectly told story that feels more narrative at times than documentary. It is one of the best artistic films of the year about one of the great artistic feats in modern history and it gives a front row center seat--1,300 feet above the ground.

- David Malsch