They were a ragtag band living overseas watching the World Trade Center towers go up. And they knew, even before the towers were built, that they were going to break into the towers; they knew they were going to commit crimes.
They spent six years planning every aspect of the operation: where to hide inside the building, how to sneak in, the rotations of the guards. It was an exercise in extreme detail and brilliance.
These weren’t jihadists bent on destruction, but artists. And the statement was beauty not death; it was artistic fanaticism.
But you know this already; this is old news. Man on Wire won every blooming award there is including the Oscar for Best Documentary.
I watched it tonight. It strikes as a film that was meant to be watched on 9/11 because it illuminates a beautiful fanaticism in which people take huge risks and hurt no one.
Some Links for the Inclined:
Man on Wire (via Wikipedia)
Philippe Petit (via Wikipedia)
IMDB page for Man on Wire
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