‘Skywalkers’ is impressive view of love on the rise
Psst! Wanna get high? OK, follow me. Or more precisely, follow the fearless duo of Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, two stunning human specimens who fell in love while attempting NOT to fall from dizzying heights atop some of the world’s tallest buildings.
If you’re one of the couple’s more than one million followers on social media, you already know what these two rooftoppers are capable of when they ascend heavenward to cheat death. But if you’re not, boy are you in for a rush courtesy of the nailbiting Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
Hitting theaters this weekend before it begins streaming on July 19, “Skywalkers” subliminally tests your level of acrophobia as Angela and Ivan aren’t content just reaching the tops of skyscrapers, they dare go even higher, by climbing spires, construction booms and communication towers extending from the buildings’ roofs. And as if that weren’t terrifying enough, they test their luck even further by snapping photos of Ivan lifting Angela overhead, a la “Dirty Dancing.”
It’s positively breathtaking. And while you marvel at their dexterity and yes, balls, you also fear for their lives. In that regard, “Skywalkers” is very much akin to the Oscar-winning “Free Solo,” an experience that challenges you not to look away as you look down from their precarious perches contemplating their plunge into the abyss. Do these two share a death wish? And what motivates them?
Directors Maria Bukhonina and Jeff Zimbalist, a rooftopper himself, provide few answers to these essential questions, but they sure do crank up the suspense to the nth degree. It’s edge-of-your-seat stuff that gets more and more perilous. If that weren’t enough, there’s the added intrigue surrounding the couple’s various plots to evade security, whether it’s donning disguises to blend in or merely projecting enough confidence to stride by as if they belong.
It also helps that both possess movie star looks and the charisma to match. Then there’s the pure athleticism displayed as they shimmy up narrow and slippery lengths of steel hundreds of feet about the streets below, sans nets and harnesses. And in Angela’s case, she occasionally does this decked out in gowns and high heels, lending additional style and grace to what they rightly consider an art form.
As you’d expect, the cinematography – utilizing a combination of GoPros, drones and the derring-do by cameramen Renato Borrayo Serrano and Pablo Rojas – is out of this world or more accurately, above-this-world – spectacular. But at its heart, the movie is a love story in which Angela and Ivan progress from rivals to friends to lovers and finally bickering, resentful partners pondering going their separate ways.
Naturally, the buildup is toward the “big game.” In this instance, “one last climb,” much like El Capitan in “Free Solo” and the tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers in “Man on Wire.” For Angela and Ivan, their Everest is Kuala Lumpur’s Merka 118, the second-tallest building in the world. And they will attempt their ascent on Dec. 18, 2022, the night of the World Cup final, when the guards’ attention will be focused on the game more than their monitors. And not satisfied with merely risking a prison sentence if caught sneaking past cameras and negotiating staircases to reach the roof 2,227 above ground, they plan to go the distance by climbing the 525-feet spire and upon reaching the top, performing a death-defying acrobatic stunt.
Like “Free Solo,” the film counts down the days until the climactic event while providing an overview of how the duo trains and plans for their foolhardy venture. This includes confronting unforeseen obstacles that are so dire they almost seem concocted. And maybe they were, but who cares when the payoff is as phenomenal as what we’re treated to in the final 10 minutes? I almost forgot to breathe.
What sticks with me, though, is not just their triumphs but how their globe-trotting reflects a time and place, whether it involves their need to flee Russia – and their homes and families – upon Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or exposing the darker side of social media and the potential danger it engenders by encouraging young folks like Angela and Ivan to take greater and greater risks, all for a few thousand more “likes.” It borders on obsession, but it has also fostered an artistry that is undeniably a creation of wondrous beauty.
It’s like Angela says in recalling the lessons taught by her circus performer parents. And that is that you don’t know your true capabilities until you’ve reached the other side of risk. That, of course, is assuming risk doesn’t kill you first. Either way, thanks to “Skywalkers,” the legend of Angela and Ivan will continue as long as seemingly unconquerable challenges await them.
Movie review
Skywalkers: A Love Story
Rated: R for language
Cast: Angela Nikolau and Vanya Beerkus
Director: Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina
Writer: Jeff Zimbalist
Runtime: 99 minutes
Where: In theaters July 12 before streaming on Netflix beginning July 19
Grade: A-
