I have some pretty fond memories of the World Trade Towers from my youth. Going to the top of them was always a fun thing to do as a kid and I did it many-a-times because of that. But one memory I don’t have from back then deals with something that happened between the two towers in 1974 and that’s only because I was two at the time. It was on the morning of August 7th of that year that Philippe Petit performed on a tightrope between both towers for over 45 minutes. And now 41 years later, his journey to that precise moment is chronicled quite well in Robert Zemeckis’s moving film, The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit.
When I first saw a preview of The Walk and learned what it was about, I wondered if they had enough material to keep viewers interested for its 2+ hour running time, especially when every single trailer only showed the extreme height of the towers and Petit balancing over the edge of one of them. But indeed, Zemeckis worked his magic once again, like I felt he did in the movie Flight with Denzel Washington. Spending much of the film focusing light-heartedly on Petit’s youth and how he became interested in doing his actual tightrope acts, I never found myself getting bored one bit with his screenplay.
While Joseph Gordon-Levitt may not have looked much like Pettit from the pictures I’ve seen of the actual Frenchman, he does do an absolutely superb job with his French accent and French dialogue. I also greatly appreciated watching Ben Kingsley play Petit’s mentor, Papa Rudy, who was the one that specifically taught him how to master the art of walking a tightrope.
What I liked best about The Walk though was the actual drive and inspiration that Philippe Petti had in life. Not once did he ever waiver from his dream to cross between the two Towers, even as he faced one difficult obstacle after another. And through it all, he still found a way to surpass such incredible odds and do something no other man ever did.
With so many of us giving up on our own quests in life all too often, especially when the going gets as rough as it does sometimes, Petit showed us that even the impossible is possible. This is why I’m thankful I took the time to watch this movie because it was a great motivator and reminder to not give up on the quest I’ve been on for the last bunch of years with my health and healing.
So if you are looking for an exciting and inspiring film, I recommend checking out The Walk. Robert Zemeckis has done such a fine job within it resurrecting both towers through the magic of Hollywood and helps to remind us through the eyes of one man named Philippe Petit, why they were so majestic in the first place. Oh and one final suggestion, watch it in 3D if you can, as the special effects definitely make you feel as if you are right there on the tightrope alongside Petit himself…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
