With a View

First of all, my apologies if you happened to notice my absence yesterday, family emergencies don't lend to blogging, and I am of course not organised enough to plan my posts in advance. So today I'm back, I'm soaking up another beautifully hot Sydney summer day, and I'm all geared up for the weekend!

I'm going to cover some pretty old ground here, but a few weeks ago I saw Man On Wire. Heard of it? I'm quite sure it would have done the blog rounds by now, but have another looksie at the trailer for a refresher...and pay attention, there will be a quiz...sort of.

Alright, were you paying attention? Did you happen to notice an Australian accent in there, along with a conspicuously Australian landmark or two? Here's a not-so-subtle hint...

That's the money shot! Man on Wire tells the captivating tale of French tightrope walker, Philippe Petit, and his quest to walk between the World Trade Towers in NYC. Along the way, he hones his craft by practicing on the Notre Dame Cathedral, and on the northern pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, above. There are no safety cables or nets, just one man and a wire.

Now I really don't want to brag about the amazing summer we're having here in Sydney, because I know many of my northern hemisphere friends are really, really over the snow/cold/wet etc, but I have to tell you about possibly the best cinema in the world, not only for this movie in particular, but any movie, ever. I'll even provide you with a map if you ever happen to be in this corner of the world!

View Larger Map

Best. Cinema. Ever.

Zoom out 5 or so times, and you'll also be able to see the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge up near the top left of the map. So imagine you're watching a documentary about a possibly insane French dude illegally hooking up some wires and dancing in thin air between the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and this is your view...

I'm very, very spoilt. Northern hemisphere friends probably won't want to hear that it was also a perfect afternoon/evening (movies start at sunset) with clear skies and pleasant warm weather - so pleasant that I barely even needed the light cardigan I brought along just in case. And better still was the fact that this was a Christmas present from Mr. Unreliable, complete with a tasty dinner, scrumptious dessert and bountiful wine.

But enough bragging, I have to admit that regardless of our setting, Man On Wire was easily one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, and perhaps even one of the best movies, period. I still get goosebumps looking at still images of Philippe's amazing achievements, and I'm strangely grateful that he and his partners in crime are still around to tell us the amazing stories.

How Philippe escaped jail time, I'll never know. When he was being arrested after his Harbour Bridge feat, he even picked the watch straight off the arm of the arresting officer! He committed all sorts of illegalities in the 6 years of planning that went into his World Trade Tower project, but even the policemen who waited for him on the north tower weren't immune to his charm.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, see it immediately! And if you have seen it...see it again. That's what I'm doing this weekend!

Happy Friday to all, and have a fabulous weekend! And if you have the chance to spend even a little time with your family this weekend, even on the phone, please do so. Please send all your thoughts/prayers/good vibes in the direction of Mr. Unreliable and his family who received some terrible news yesterday, and to Holly of Decor8 who also received the same sad news.