The season’s most all-American movie stars a Frenchman who can’t wait to risk his life for no monetary gain. What a shame that audiences aren’t lining up to see it.

Director Robert Zemeckis’s “The Walk,” based on the true story of Philippe Petit, the French performance artist who walked across the World Trade Center Twin Towers in 1974, has made just $10 million during its limited run. While the film’s digital CGI effects are breathtaking, the narrative reflects almost precisely the events chronicled in the 2008 Academy Award-winning documentary, “Man on Wire.”

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In addition to the virtual world he created for the thrill of it, Zemeckis did one thing very well — if subtly. He centered the narrative on the Statue of Liberty, from which Petit, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, stood (in a digitally constructed torch) as he described the events leading up to his famous wire-walk. Lady Liberty, as it turns out, is a clever symbol — a reminder to the audience that Petit is not only a quirky French artist, he’s truly an American idol.

Petit was born and raised in the French countryside, where he learned to juggle and perform tricks on a high wire. At 18, he conceived of “le coup” — his endearing name for the walk across the Towers. Both the documentary and film versions say the moment of conception occurred when Petit saw a drawing of the Towers in a magazine story before they were built. From that moment on, he dreamed of constructing what he called the “artistic crime of the century.”

Petit wasn’t a hardened criminal, of course. He was a dreamer. In proving that the unthinkable was possible, Petit was and still is a testament to the American dream. Best of all, he proved you don’t even have to be American to pursue it.

In proving that the unthinkable was possible, Petit was and still is a testament to the American dream.

Petit might have been raised in a similarly democratic state, but his story could not have occurred without modeling the vibrant optimism and recklessness that characterize the uniquely American spirit. By spirit, we mean capitalism.

Petit’s legacy is far more capitalist than socialist. For one, he pursued his “crime” as passionately as an entrepreneur starting a business. He invested six years of his life into the investigation that preceded his Tower walk with no promise of future returns or certainty. In both the documentary and the Zemeckis film, Petit was shown going to extraordinary lengths to study the conditions in which he would eventually launch his venture. The difference: The payoff for him was glory.

In the spirit of entrepreneurship, Petit went all-in. He risked years of his own blood, sweat and tears to devise a viable plan. None of it was certain, and on the night of “le coup,” Petit and his team of “accomplices” faced inordinate challenges that could have set them back or caused him to call the whole thing off at numerous points. Petit continued to assume the risk before him with the full knowledge that even if he did manage the near-impossible and made it to the roof for that imposing walk, he alone would be responsible for taking the ultimate risk — the possible sacrifice of his own life.

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Nevertheless, Petit exhibited grace under pressure for he had nothing to lose. It was the same philosophy that brought the very first immigrants by boat to America — a land whose blueprint was all but written in stone.

Managing risk and uncertainty is far more authentic when it’s not mitigated by practical questions like: What is the likelihood of success in this venture? Or, how will this affect my 401(k)? It’s not that Petit wasn’t bothered to consider the ramifications of a possible failure; it’s that he wasn’t deterred by the challenges. He believed in a higher vision, and he never looked back.

The American dream is not about imagination and creativity, per se. It’s about execution, and it’s built on a foundation of risk. Americans have a funny Frenchman to thank for reminding us of the importance of that. Perhaps the film would be faring better stateside had its marketing division played up its All-American joi de vive.