This year has been a great one for documentaries.  Films like (Steve) In Two Parts, Jim Henson: Idea Man, The Secret Mall Apartment, I’m George Lucas: The Connor Ratliff Story, Naked Ambition: Bunny Yeager, and Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill to name a handful have come out and are all great. Another phenomenal one is Skywalker’s: A Love Story which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January.

The buzz around this documentary is well deserved. This film, despite its title, isn’t about Star Wars. It’s about a pair of Russians, Angela, and Ivan, who were seeking adventure so they started climbing tall structures around the globe, mostly in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. They are respectfully known as rooftoppers by their fans who follow them on Instagram, and TikTok, and by the news anchors who cover their incredible feats of daring on the news. They are more complicated people than this though when they’re not climbing high buildings and breaking into construction sites illegally. 

Angela is the daughter of a divorced couple and Ivan is also the son of a divorced couple. This separation gave them a drive to try and achieve something on their own to show their parents they are worth something in life. They both struck on their own to start climbing. They developed a following on their own, but eventually, they decided to work together. Two are better than one as they say.  Once they started working together they achieved higher goals and started to like each other romantically.

These two seem like they are a perfect match for one another. They are both daredevils trying to achieve incredible feats and prove to the world this can happen, but like anybody, they have their differences at times. Vanya is trying to protect and look out for Angela, but she is a woman who has her way of doing things sometimes. She’s very self-reliant on herself and her abilities. She does love him and they make a great team. One last big climb will prove to them how tight their bond with each other truly is. Trust is a big thing going forward for the pair of daredevils. 

The pair of young rooftoppers have traveled around the globe. From Tian Jin, China, which is very scary for me to watch. They use tricks to get past security cameras and around obstacles, such as picking locks. A few of the big cities they’ve visited are Paris, France, where they end up running from police again. Pattaya, Thailand, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Chongqing, Malaysia, and Kuala Lumpur. They have to be very stealthy because of the danger of getting caught and arrested for breaking and entering illegally. None of the people who own these buildings and structures want their property on the news or social media like this. It makes them look bad.

Netflix bought this documentary out of the Sundance Film Festival but chose to release the film now. They are putting it out on IMAX screens which will show the documentary in all of its full glory. The filmmakers use drones, GoPro cameras, and so forth to achieve the goal they were looking for. Which is to show the huge scope of this film. The high heights of the buildings show that this is very dangerous what this pair are doing. These buildings aren’t small; they are hundreds of feet in the air. The IMAX is the perfect way to show this documentary. They did this with Blue Angels earlier this year and Free Solo a couple of years ago as other examples of films like this shown on IMAX screens. 

What is one of the best things about doing this dangerous stuff for Angela and Vanya is that they can get paid in the form of sponsors and get their travel paid for as well. The money is a good thing for them both because they come from impoverished areas of Russia. Unfortunately for them, the COVID pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by the Russians happened and caused them some financial issues. One last job proves to be the answer to all their prayers. They need to climb the Merdeka building which is considered the tallest building with a spire in the world. This is the make or break for the pair. This is a very dramatic sequence in the film.

Skywalker’s: A Love Story is an amazing documentary in scope and feel. The two main characters are very engaging and their relationship with each other is just important in the scope of the film as they climb these giant structures. The cinematography is part of why this documentary is so good. The IMAX will help viewers see that when they watch it on the big screen before it comes to Netflix. There is a genuine human story combined with incredible feats of daring. It’s a combination of so many elements that come together perfectly. I loved this documentary!

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen