There is no why

Completing a standardized test on Saturday morning meant that I earned the right to do nothing else productive for the rest of the weekend. So I watched Man On Wire. Now, at the time of writing this, the documentary is the best reviewed film of the year, with 129/129 raves. Of course it's fantastic. If you haven't heard, it's about a guy named Philippe Petit who walked tightropes, and in 1974 decided to walk across the towers of the World Trade Center.

It's an amazing story of defying the rules of both gravity and law and order. He does it "because he can". To see Petit talk about it, more than thirty years after the fact, still hugely animated, and moving about all over the place, is incredibly infectuous. Then there are his pals, who posed as contractors to get up to the top of the towers, get the wire across there, and provided Petit with support for his terrifying yet amazing objective. His girlfriend-at-the-time tells the story today with the same wonder that she had back in 1974. As you hear the crew talk of lying perfectly still and silent to avoid getting caught by WTC security guards, it's hard to not get caught up in the tenseness. Yes, we know how it ends, but it's still a thrilling ride to the top.

And then, we get to the day itself, and the footage is truly breathtaking.

Watch it as soon as you can.