The Walk 2015 Movie Review with Photos of Philippe Petit at the Twin Towers

Saturday, January 09, 2016

"Every dream begins with a single step." this line perfectly describes this movie. I was not really that interested into watching this movie because I thought the title itself was very predictable to the whole plot of the movie but of course, since I am a big fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I watched it anyway.

The Walk is based from a true story, Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrayed the role of Philippe Petit, a young French high wire walker who made his dream of crossing between the rooftops of the North and South buildings of New York’s World Trade Center (in 1974), at the time, the world’s tallest buildings, a reality. Of course this was way before the 9/11 Bombing.

I thought that the movie just evolved on his dream on walking at the Twin Towers, but this film is so much more than that event alone.

His story begins when he was a kid and he would sneak into a circus and was captivated by the high wire act. He decides to teach himself how to walk the rope, and it is years later in Paris that Philippe, now a street performer, reads about the construction of the World Trade Center buildings, and his dream is given wings. While in Paris, he meets a musician named Annie (Charlotte Le Bon), a fellow artist with whom he can share both his heart and his vision. Soon, he makes the acquaintance of others who will join him in his grand and audacious endeavor, code named “le coup.”

For his unauthorized or illegal endeavor, Philippe walked in a 1,350 feet (400 metres) above the ground, he rigged a 450-pound (200-kilogram) cable and used a custom-made 26-foot (8-metre) long, 55-pound (25-kilogram) balancing pole. He performed for 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. The next week, he celebrated his 25th birthday. All charges were dismissed in exchange for his doing a performance in Central Park for children.

Since then, Petit has lived in New York, where he has been artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, also a location of other aerial performances. He has done wire walking as part of official celebrations in New York, across the United States, and in France and other countries, as well as teaching workshops on the art.

The film chronicles the events leading up to Philippe Petit’s famous walk, but, in following his journey over those few years, we get to see how he handles the lessons that come in every life. He had doubts but he regained his confidence and trusted his own instincts and belief.

Later, when arriving at the Towers for the first time, he exclaims, “No one in his right mind would do this. It’s impossible, but I’ll do it.” He also showed how he appreciated the help of his friends because without them he will not be able to accomplish it.

Check out the photos of Philippe Petit when he crossed the Twin Towers

in Real Life: