Man off Why

Man on Wire is a documentary that reveals the story behind a tightrope walker named Phillippe Petit who managed to pull off the illegal tightrope walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. His story is both compelling and inspiring as it leads the audience through the ups and downs of his journey. The documentary does a good job of revealing the truth of the absolute impossible nature of Phillippe's dream. After several years of practice, and multiple flights to the United States to research the coming and goings of the World Trade centers, Phillippe and his crew finally developed a plan that was just barely thorough enough to give them as single shot at setting up a tight rope at the top of the Twin towers and walking between them. 

The truth is Phillippe Petit's journey was found in the details of his story. The way they had to hide from security guard for hours, shoot an arrow with a wire on it from one tower to the next, pull the slack of the heavy wire for hours, all to barely get one shot at Phillippe's dreams. It should also be noted that all his preparation and work hinged the commitment and motivation of Phillippe's team, which was made up of friends, strangers, and an unanticipated contact at the top of the towers. Other than revealing the truth of the story and the impossible nature of their tasks, Man on Wire holds the elements of an "ecstatic truth." Herzog's ecstatic truth is a term that refers to a truth that is “mysterious and can only be grasped with effort; one attains it through vision, style, and craft.” This type of truth was scene in the success of the goal as it pertained to Phillipe's enthusiasm and fearless ambition to chase his dreams. The documentary went further as to reveal the truth about the effect that completing Phillippe's dreams had on his friendships and relationships.

In Man on Wire, relationship nuances that did not entirely pertain to the completion of Phillipe's goal were revealed. Some of which included his relationship with a long-term lover and the way their relationship ended shortly after the completion of such a large and beautiful goal. Phillips also grew apart from his other good friends who fulfilled essential roles in the planning and completion of his dream. The truth to be determined from these aspects is dependent on the interpretation of the audience. The termination of Phillipe's relationships could have been due to the fact that their friendships were around the premise of effectively doing something as beautiful as it was impossible. It could have also been a result of the lustful nature of ambitious desire and success. Man on Wire creatively made the connection between lust and ambition by including the part of the story where Phillippe went home with and had sex with an admirer upon being released from prison. The rewards of lust and ambition are very similar and play a large role in motivating people to attempt the assumedly impossible. 

However, as Phillippe explained at the end of the documentary, although it is interesting to speculate "why" people do what they are passionate about, the "why" doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is the truth in knowing something that beautiful "did" happen.