DVD Reviews

Published on Friday 19 December 2008 16:06

THE latest releases

MAN ON WIRE ****

(12) 19.99

Director: James Marsh

Running time: 100 minutes

While Philippe Petit wasn't a magnificent man in a flying machine, James Marsh's excellent documentary pays homage to Petit's attempt to walk through the sky with ease and lan. In 1974 Petit (still alive today) walked the wires he had rigged 1,300 feet above the ground between the Twin Towers. The result feels like part-heist film, part-sweeping biopic.

"You have to live your life on a tightrope," Petit, who eventually crossed the wire eight times in 45 minutes, says. And that is precisely what he has done. Before the Twin Towers walk came Sydney Harbour Bridge and Notre Dame Cathedral, but ever since Petit, below, spotted the drawings of how the Twin Towers would look in a dentist's waiting room as a child, this was always his ultimate goal.

The documentary illustrates the ego as well as the eccentric athlete, with Petit (disowned by his family) admitting that when he descended from the towers it was not his wife he went to and walked away with, but a female admirer. There is also little recognition of the men around him at the time, but the interviews from the present day go a long way to convince us of their utter devotion. Petit, who clearly sees himself as something of a Robin Hood of public buildings is a mesmerising frontman for the operation and for the film. Marsh doesn't interfere with his subject, allowing the cultish capacity of Petit's ego and ability to shine through. Few men have such ambition, and it's a treat to witness.

BEN X **

(15) 15.99

Director: Nic Balthazar

Running time: 90 minutes

Flemish director Nic Balthazar wrote the novel, wrote the film and directed the film, and perhaps the intensity of that involvement is what stops this teenage drama from achieving anything above the average. This is a shame given that the wider context of the plot is that teenager Ben's autism has led to bullying and, despite him retreating to the world of online gaming as a means of escape, he finds that life online offers little solace. With 'happy slapping' and text bullying now common currency in your average teenager's life this was a film which could have had far more range and impact.

Ben is an autistic teenager, and Balthazar's debut aims to recreate how the world looks and sounds to him. Greg Timmermans does a decent job of portraying the mixture of frustration and imagination which leads to him contemplating suicide as a result of the turmoil brought about by the cauldron of teachers, parents and peers vying to control his life for him.

Suddenly Scarlite appears online and offers some comfort and friendship, but the relentless unease of the film doesn't even allow this to shed much hope on the situation.

With such imaginative works about teenagers as Donnie Darko, or such realistic ones as Kidulthood, it's hard to see where Ben X fits. Which is a shame, given the potential and passion which is so clearly behind it.