DOCUMENTARY
MAN ON WIRE
(12A) 94min 0...
Meet Philippe Petit - French artist, performer and high wire walker. 0n the afternoon of 6 August 1974, Petit and six accomplices set off for the World Trade Centre in an unmarked van. With forged ID passes and dressed as deliverymen they were about to commit the greatest victimless art crime of the century. The story of that daring caper, the practice events that led up to it (Notre Dame Cathedral and Sydney Harbour Bridge) and the genesis of this, the maddest of living performance artists is told in this engrossing and thrilling film.
Adapted from Petit’s book To Reach for the Clouds and directed by James Marsh (whose seminal 1999 documentary Wisconson Death Trip created a new template for British documentary), Man on Wire takes the viewer on a remarkable psychological journey. By utilising the three acts of the heist thriller - recruiting a team of experts, planning and executing an ingenious
24 THE LIST 31 Jul—7 Aug 2008
scheme, the aftermath of betrayal and (mild) recrimination - Marsh keeps us on the edge of our seats.
Using a mixture of original footage, recreation (beautifully shot in black and white by cinematographer Igor Martinovic) and interviews tempered by Petit’s eccentric narration, Marsh also builds a very complete picture of his clearly insane protagonist. Petit emerges as that all too rare creature - the anarchist artist, closer in spirit and intent to the great Catholic anarchist, pacifist, vegetarian, draft refuser and tax resister Ammon Hennacy (who noted that ‘an anarchist is anyone who doesn’t need a cop to tell him what to do’) or original Yippee activist Abbie Hoffmann than to the performance artists, exhibitionists and circus carnies he is all too often lumped in with.
Man on Wire is a cherishable and joyous tale from a more innocent age, a time before dreams and the creation of marvels were eroded by the corrupt, the foolish and the paranoid. (Paul Dale)
I General release from Fri 7 Aug.
SUPERHERO/THRlLLER THE DARK KNIGHT (12A) 152min 0000
I Out now on general release.
ANIMATION/COMEDY SPACE CHIMPS (U) 80min «
Crowded out in the summer schedules by WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda. Space Chimps is the latest effort from Vanguard Animations destined to suffer the also-ran status of Valiant and Happily N‘Ever After.
On the whim of a sinister senator (voiced by Stanley Tucci). Ham lll (Andy Samberg) — the circus- performer grandson of one of the first chimpanzees in space. is sent into orbit to retrieve a missing satellite. He is aided by fellow simians Titan (Patrick Warburton), and Luna (Cheryl Hines). After going through a Planet of the Apes-style wormhole in space and time. the intrepid chimps find themselves navigating a bizarre alien world ruled by King Zartog (Jeff Daniels).
From debutante director Kirk De Mikko. Space Chimps doesn't exactly set its sights high. with endless monkey and banana puns and bog- standard animation. There's some imagination behind some of the weird Creatures encountered. including the breast-shaped. opera-singing Kilowatt (Kristin Chenoweth). and Zartog's infatuation with creating a Vegas-style resort allows room for a little satire. But although the notion of using intelligent. feeling animals for a space mission has scope for genuine pathos. De Mikko‘s opus never begins to approach the depth of a Pixar production; cute as they are. these Space Chimps are strictly for easily- pleased little monkeys.
(Eddie Harrison) I General release from Fri 7 Aug.
British filmmaker Christopher Nolan's revamp of the superhero franchise reaches its apotheosis with this sequel to Batman Begins. a well-imagined, perfectly executed film that combines blockbuster spectacle with indie cinema cool and smarts. Having filled in Batman's origin and set the scene in the previous film. Nolan dives straight into the action with a bank heist. As Batman (Christian Bale) continues his war on organised crime with the assistance of dogged Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman). flashy DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and droll valet Alfred (Michael Caine), it becomes increasingly clear that his unlawful efforts at re- establishing order in Gotham City have inspired a horrifying alter-ego in the psychotic. clown The Joker (the late Heath Ledger).
What follows is a thrilling battle of wits and wills between protagonist and antagonist — who are revealed as very much two sides of the same coin — and their duel slowly terrorises the populace Gotham. The long. dark game of cat and mouse plays Out as a morality tale, which also works as a political allegory about post-9/ 1 1 America. Having already eschewed the cartoony Gothic trappings of Tim Burton‘s Batman films. Nolan further pares down the high stylisation to make a taut. tough urban thriller that is primarily concerned with theme. character and plotting, and in modern mainstream cinema. that's an achievement. (Jack Dayls)