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The Walk. A brave and intimidating proposal
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Philippe Petit is a French tightrope walker who crossed between the Twin Towers of New York in 1974, defying the law of gravity. For this unauthorized feat, he set up a 200 kilos cable and used an 8 meter long, 25 kilos balancing pole. For about 40 minutes, this young man walked on the cable doing all sorts of stunts flying, since he was not content to get through just once in his frenzy. Petit was then 25 years old and had already dared to cross between the two towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in 1971.
In 2008, director James Marsh filmed an excellent documentary about Petit's feat that won numerous awards. Now comes to our screens this film based on the book written by Petit about his own deed. It is directed by Robert Zemeckis and superbly starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Director and author have needed ten years to prepare and train the protagonist in the art of balancing act.
Building a fictional story based on real facts is not an easy task, as it has to transcend the original story and, at the same time, keep fantasy, but Zemeckis knows how to create a fabulous show that grows as it goes. The film tells us a few moments in the life of the protagonist that are essential to understanding his vocation, but mainly it focuses on how to recruit a team that believes in his madness. This small group managed to enter the still unfinished towers, traced the wiring without attracting attention and contributed to the magnificent spectacle that Petit offered at a height of 400 meters.
An agile and entertaining style, a visual and technical perfection and the beauty of New York from different perspectives and rich nuances inevitably will trap a broad audience. You will probably leave with the feeling that if somebody can do something as crazy, any dream is possible
Texts: Núria Farré. facebook@cinemaperaestudiants.cat
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