"Why?" That is the question that people ask me most. Pourquoi? Why? For what? Why do you walk on the wire? Why do you tempt fate? Why do you risk death? But I don’t think of it this way. …Instead I use the opposite word: life. For me, to walk on the wire, this is life. C'est la vie.
~Philippe Petit in The Walk
~Philippe Petit in The Walk
Take a deep breath. That was my thought as the vast spaces between and below the skyscrapers rolled across the theater screen the first time I attended The Walk. The cinematography, especially with 3D enhancement, was—literally—breathtaking.
Of course I'd already read and watched everything I could about Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers of New York. This was my chance to glimpse the grandeur of those heights and depths, skies and abysses, as if I were there with Philippe on his wire. It was so well done that even from the safety of my seat I was fighting vertigo. As I imagined that it was me on the wire, I practiced the deep breathing of a highwire walker/highliner to steady my senses. As I pulled in a deep (audible) breath, I heard my friend Melissa, in perfect unison, suck in breath as well. Yes, the two of us were certainly wrapped up in the movie.
The Walk isn’t just a beautiful dramatization of a unique historical event, it is a glimpse into the world of highwire walkers and, most importantly, how incredible dreams are realized. There are plenty of talented movie critics who can tell you all about the movie and what makes it stellar cinematically, so I’ll just tell you what I took away from it, what I learned about dreaming.
To look at two massive, solid skyscrapers and dream only of conquering the intervening void, to actually rig a wire there, 1,350 feet from the ground, was probably insane, arguably irresponsible, and certainly illegal. It’s no wonder that the movie begins with the quote above, highlighting the question “why?” But according to the character of Philippe in that opening scene, there may not be an answer he can express in words for why he did what he did and dreamed what he dreamed. The best he can do is show us the how.
Even though, supposedly, this movie is only about how he pulled off his illegal walk, as you watch, you may find the why on your own along the way: if your heart turns over with as much joy as fear, then you know why, if you echo the many characters in the movie who simply called it “beautiful”, then you understand why. If it doesn’t…then your heart is tuned to different dreams and perhaps no explanation or justification for that question "why?" could ever convince you that Philippe Petit wasn’t just mad.
Often in this blog I try to explain why my heart is drawn to a dream similar to Philippe’s. It is something I will probably continue to do as long as I continue on this journey of seeking balance and continue writing about it. But I hope to take from this movie the truth that sometimes we cannot describe what drives us; then all we can do is focus on how we achieve our dreams.
Pulling off his walk between the Twin Towers, Philippe called “The Coup”. Naturally then his friends and support crew became “accomplices”. A coup is a victory—a brilliant, sudden, difficult, unexpected achievement. His walk certainly was all that. But as a former political science major, my mind wandered to the alternate, political definition of the word: an overturn or upset; an overthrow. I asked myself if that definition applied as well. But what was he overthrowing? His friend Jean-Louis had already claimed that all artists are to some degree anarchists, and the walk was certainly very illegal.
On the day of the walk, Philippe stood impishly defiant on his wire beyond the reach of police officers, the representatives of law and executive government, leaving them no (humane) avenues to enforce their commands that he come off the wire. Even as a law-abiding citizen myself, I can never quite bring myself to fully condemn Philippe’s coup—because it was more than just overthrowing the law. On that day, when he walked between the towers, he overturned the governing status quo: where we believe men can walk, what we as people believe is possible.
That is the second thing I want to remember: that impossible dreams aren’t out of reach, that with practice and passion I may wrest power from the despotic status quo. Elsewhere Philippe talks about the final, unseen accomplice to his coup, and offers advice on how to make him our accomplice as well: “The ‘impossible’ is not your enemy, he is your co-conspirator. …if you walk with him long enough, he is willing to let you in on a secret, to help you do something astonishing.”
The Walk was as breathtaking the third time as it was the first. Yes, I watched the movie twice more in theater 3D, each time with friends who, in the last few years, have become accomplices to my dream. Each time, from the darkness on either side of me, I heard satisfying quiet gasps and indrawn breaths. Each time I walked out of the theater fired with ambition, motivated to continue seeking balance, and feeling very much alive in those ambitions.
Oh, and I am incredibly jealous of lead actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s eight-day wire workshop with the real Philippe Petit.
Of course I'd already read and watched everything I could about Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers of New York. This was my chance to glimpse the grandeur of those heights and depths, skies and abysses, as if I were there with Philippe on his wire. It was so well done that even from the safety of my seat I was fighting vertigo. As I imagined that it was me on the wire, I practiced the deep breathing of a highwire walker/highliner to steady my senses. As I pulled in a deep (audible) breath, I heard my friend Melissa, in perfect unison, suck in breath as well. Yes, the two of us were certainly wrapped up in the movie.
 |
| Photo: Sony Pictures |
The Walk isn’t just a beautiful dramatization of a unique historical event, it is a glimpse into the world of highwire walkers and, most importantly, how incredible dreams are realized. There are plenty of talented movie critics who can tell you all about the movie and what makes it stellar cinematically, so I’ll just tell you what I took away from it, what I learned about dreaming.
To look at two massive, solid skyscrapers and dream only of conquering the intervening void, to actually rig a wire there, 1,350 feet from the ground, was probably insane, arguably irresponsible, and certainly illegal. It’s no wonder that the movie begins with the quote above, highlighting the question “why?” But according to the character of Philippe in that opening scene, there may not be an answer he can express in words for why he did what he did and dreamed what he dreamed. The best he can do is show us the how.
Even though, supposedly, this movie is only about how he pulled off his illegal walk, as you watch, you may find the why on your own along the way: if your heart turns over with as much joy as fear, then you know why, if you echo the many characters in the movie who simply called it “beautiful”, then you understand why. If it doesn’t…then your heart is tuned to different dreams and perhaps no explanation or justification for that question "why?" could ever convince you that Philippe Petit wasn’t just mad.
Often in this blog I try to explain why my heart is drawn to a dream similar to Philippe’s. It is something I will probably continue to do as long as I continue on this journey of seeking balance and continue writing about it. But I hope to take from this movie the truth that sometimes we cannot describe what drives us; then all we can do is focus on how we achieve our dreams.
Pulling off his walk between the Twin Towers, Philippe called “The Coup”. Naturally then his friends and support crew became “accomplices”. A coup is a victory—a brilliant, sudden, difficult, unexpected achievement. His walk certainly was all that. But as a former political science major, my mind wandered to the alternate, political definition of the word: an overturn or upset; an overthrow. I asked myself if that definition applied as well. But what was he overthrowing? His friend Jean-Louis had already claimed that all artists are to some degree anarchists, and the walk was certainly very illegal.
 |
| Photo: Sony Pictures |
That is the second thing I want to remember: that impossible dreams aren’t out of reach, that with practice and passion I may wrest power from the despotic status quo. Elsewhere Philippe talks about the final, unseen accomplice to his coup, and offers advice on how to make him our accomplice as well: “The ‘impossible’ is not your enemy, he is your co-conspirator. …if you walk with him long enough, he is willing to let you in on a secret, to help you do something astonishing.”
The Walk was as breathtaking the third time as it was the first. Yes, I watched the movie twice more in theater 3D, each time with friends who, in the last few years, have become accomplices to my dream. Each time, from the darkness on either side of me, I heard satisfying quiet gasps and indrawn breaths. Each time I walked out of the theater fired with ambition, motivated to continue seeking balance, and feeling very much alive in those ambitions.
Oh, and I am incredibly jealous of lead actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s eight-day wire workshop with the real Philippe Petit.
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