A&E

To some, color coded security warnings seem ridiculous—but they keep us safe, right? In an age of heightened security, it’s difficult to imagine a time when one did not have to remove one’s shoes before stepping on a plane—or a time when a group of foreigners could smuggle over a ton of equipment to the top of the tallest building in the country and orchestrate an early morning tightrope walk.

Such is the context of James Marsh’s new film “Man on Wire,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The movie revolves around Philippe Petit’s legendary walk between the World Trade Center (WTC) on a 450 pound wire. The movie includes details about Petit’s long journey from the streets of Paris to a tightrope above the streets of Manhattan.

The film does an incredible job of transporting the viewer back in time. Grainy, black and white shots and footage of events like Nixon’s impeachment takes us back to 1974.

Petit’s spirit shines throughout the movie. His relentless—and often reckless—pursuit of his dream drives the film. After the screening, when Petit announced that he planned to tightrope-walk across ancient ruins on Easter Island, the audience had no doubt that he would accomplish this feat—even though he’s nearly 60 years old. The film preserves Petit’s youth with humorous anecdotes, like his story of stealing the wallet of a policeman who forced him down from a wire across a busy Australian highway.

“Man on Wire” also makes great use of the photographs that Petit’s team of co-conspirators took of his walk. Although there is no actual footage of the walk, the documentary conveys the incredible gravity of Petit’s feat and the wonder of those watching below. The images of Petit lying down on the wire facing the sky are stunning.

While Petit’s story is the film’s core, the movie also has a greater message about how New York has changed. A police report about the tight rope walk consisted of three words: “Man on Wire.” Charges were dropped when Petit agreed to juggle for the cameras.

A government may limit some freedoms for security’s sake, but, as we sign away our freedoms, we must question what is lost. Nowadays, street performers require a permit. “Man on Wire” documents an extraordinary event, but, more importantly, it is a portrait of an older New York.

The film uses its narrative scenes to great effect, transporting the viewer back to Petit’s childhood and moments of revelation. Petit describes reading about the Twin Towers for the first time while waiting for a dentist appointment. The actor portraying Petit smiles, and in a humorous moment draws a line connecting the top of the two buildings, and then dashes out. Petit said, “[I] had a toothache for a week, but I had my dream.”

He has since made many tight rope walks–often with the consent of the authorities. Since his walk at the WTC, he has performed in Washington Square, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and at the Eiffel Tower. He is unconcerned with risk. “If I die, what a beautiful death to die in the pursuit of your passion,” he said.

When Petit was doing his walk, he stopped for a moment and lay down. He thought to himself, “This is an image which I will never see ever again.” Watching this film is a rather similar experience, because, in its vivid and entrancing narrative style, we see New York frozen in time. Watching this film is also somewhat sad. We will never see our city as it was in this film.