March Screening

What: Man On Wire
When: Saturday March 21, 6:30 pm
Rating: PG-13
Where: Lawrence Academy

Recital Hall, Williams Arts Center
Powder House Road Groton, Massachusetts 01450

Parking: Please see this map.

Cost: Admission is free for members. Non-members can purchase a one-day membership at the door for $15 per person, which includes admission to the reception(s), screening, discussion, and speaker presentation (if any). For details please see our membership page.

Man On Wire is a graceful retelling of the feat of the Frenchman Philippe Petit, who on the day Richard Nixon resigned from office danced for 45 minutes on a wire strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. British filmmaker James Marsh tells the story using talking heads of the participants 34 years after the fact, archival footage, and actors’ reenactments. The artistry of the film, startling in a documentary, will leave you gasping; and if it doesn’t, the slow unfolding and denoument of Petit’s breathtaking and transcendently loony dream will.

The film garnered 21 awards for best documentary, including an Oscar, an Eddie, an Independent Spirit award, both audience and critics’ awards at Sundance, and Critics’ Circle awards in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, and many other cities.

Christopher Orr, New Republic:

“It’s a rare tale of dangerous obsession rapturously fulfilled, a reminder that even the most quixotic of undertakings can knock over a windmill now and then.”

Tom Long, Detroit News:

“Astonishing. Daring. Mind-boggling. Visually stunning. A true heart-stopper. And, oh yeah, the movie’s pretty good, too.”

Ty Burr, Boston Globe:

“A documentary about a towering act of daring proves a spine-tingling memorial to recklessness as art.”

You can watch a trailer here or get more information on the film at the Internet Movie Database or Rotten Tomatoes.
 

2009-03-02