Friday, March 29, 2024

“The Walk” Now Playing at Village Theatre

In 1974, Phillipe Petit has a dream: to walk on a high wire from one World Trade Center Tower to the other.

Phillipe has been in love with tightrope walking ever since he sneaked into a traveling circus tent in his rural French town as a small boy. He began to practice on a rope he strung up himself until his exasperated parents kicked him out — whereupon, unperturbed, he turned to the circus high wire trainer for a full education. Eventually, he travels to Paris to earn his living on the streets as a busker, juggling on a five-foot high wire strung between lampposts.

While in Paris, he sees a drawing of the nearly-complete World Trade Center Towers in New York City. He draws a line between the two buildings — and begins to dream.

The beauty of The Walk is that it is a true story, told by the masterful storyteller who also brought us Forrest Gump and Cast-Away. With painstaking detail and nail-biting drama, Robert Zemeckis traces Philippe’s journey to find accomplices, determine a plan to get his extensive supplies into both towers, and finally to string up his wire between the two towers in the night so he can astonish NYC at daybreak.

“The movie is terrifying if you are afraid of heights,” commented moviegoer Elliott, wearing a pair of 3D glasses. “But that’s the best part of it, too, because you really feel like you’re stepping out onto that wire with him, laying down, turning around, all 110 stories up in the air.”

Judging by the gasps in the theater last night, The Walk brought us along on its journey between two famous towers, now tragically lost to history, but also captured the eternal journey from East to West, from danger to safety, from dream to victory.

The Walk

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon

Run time: 2 hours 1 minute

Rated: PG

See upcoming showtimes for The Walk here.



Becca Garber
Becca Garberhttp://beccagarber.com
Becca is a Coronado local, military spouse, mother of three, and an ICU nurse on hiatus. In Coronado, you will find her at the playground with her kids, jogging to the beach, or searching the Coronado library for another good read.Have news to share? Send tips, story ideas or letters to the editor to: [email protected].

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