A documentary about Russian “rooftops” Angela Nikolaou and Ivan Berkus, a couple who make their living illegally climbing to the rooftops of skyscrapers and other tall buildings, taking unforgettable photos. But there is always a huge risk to their safety and relationship.
“This film contains extremely dangerous and illegal activities,” reads the Jackass-esque title card at the beginning of Skywalkers: A Love Story. “Don’t try to imitate.” No kidding. After watching a movie like this, you might think twice before going higher than the second floor of a building. Maybe a nice cozy mezzanine, all at once. It’s a feature-length documentary about “rooftops,” a unique social media-driven craze (which also sounds uniquely Russian) in which young people illicitly climb onto rooftops, scaffolds, cranes and other extremely tall structures, in order to get the most epic views. From selfies, the most amazing panoramas, and the most Instagram-friendly drone videos. If you’ve seen the 2022 B-rated fall thriller, well, that’s basically the live-action version.
Director Jeff Zimbalist and co-director Maria Pokhonina smartly decided to not just tell a story about this unusual phenomenon, but instead focus on a couple within this community: Angela Nicolaou and Evan Berkus. Clearly two of the best in the business, brought together by the same strange hobby, they soon find themselves in a whirlwind romance. Their love feels real, even if they both recognize the power of the narrative they offer their avid social media audience, and the unexpected couple portraits they manage to capture. “We are now more than just adventurers,” says Nicolaou. “Now we were telling a love story.”
In the end a matter straight from the heart.
But soon the honeymoon period ends, and they fight on the stairs, a lovers’ quarrel that takes on a different dynamic at 800 feet. So there are basically two narratives here: an attempt to understand the reasons why these young people are putting themselves at risk, just for the sake of social media clout (at least 20 urban explorers have died as a result of roof climbing); As the title suggests, getting under the skin of star-crossed lovers. It’s all based on one big climb, of the still-under-construction Merdeka 118 building in Kuala Lumpur, the second tallest building in the world. It’s a logistically complex, legally dangerous and life-threatening challenge, and they plan to finish it with a Dirty Dancing-style elevator and absolute fame on the roof.
As with 2008’s Man On Wire — another romantic documentary about daring, astonishing acts — the filmmakers cede the film’s voice, and to some extent its authorship, to its themes. The only voices we hear on screen and in voiceover are those of Nicolaou and Berkus, which sometimes makes the film feel like an extension of their ever-growing social media empire, or a giant advertisement for their token NFTs, a major source of their income. It seems the direction may be more probing into understanding their death-defying motivations, or why Russians are mostly on rooftops (the Russia-Ukraine conflict is only mentioned briefly, even though it creates huge problems).
However, the heroics they perform are undeniable in a chilling drama, and the stakes are startlingly clear. We’re shown short, realistic clips of rooftop dwellers at whom Lady Luck doesn’t smile, while moments when Berkus casually mentions, halfway up the crane, that his “shoes are slipping”, will have you watching through your fingers. As the title promises, this is ultimately straight from the heart. “Love is like heights,” Nicolau says at the end, finding a very precise parallel. “Fear never goes away. You get better at facing it.” They’re so cute – and as Dirty Dancing teaches us, no one puts a kid in a corner. The kid is placed on a huge bloody skyscraper instead.
An unconventional romance that will leave you sweating and teary in equal measure. It doesn’t quite reach the heights it can, but there’s an awesome view up there.
