The Tribeca Film Festival kicks off next week, and I just watched one of the documentaries that will be showcased. It’s called “Man On Wire” and tells of the daring exploits of Philippe Petit, the funambulist who in 1974 walked on a cable strung between the two towers of the newly built World Trade Center.

Petit himself is on hand to tell the tale (which puts one’s mind at ease about the outcome of the feat) and he’s a seductive subject. His passion engulfed him for over six years and he planned the coup to the last detail. Over a ton of equipment had to be smuggled up to the roof of the still unfinished towers. Then a bow and arrow were used to shoot a thin fishing wire across, which in turn pulled string, then rope, then the thick heavy cable. Petit walked for 45 minutes, even lying down at one point. It’s all captured in photos, but with Michael Nyman’s score and masterful recreations by director James Marsh, I felt I had witnessed the whole thing.

What adds to it all, of course, is the fact that the World Trade Center is no longer there and the film is a loving memorial of those beautiful buildings. I had never seen some of the footage of the towers going up.

Seven years after 9/11, one wonders if an exploit of this nature could ever be pulled off again, with all the security that now exists. It was exhilarating to see a film that celebrates the towers and shows them so proud and tall.