‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’ Thrives on the Dizzying Heights of a Death-Defying Passion

Alci Rengifo

Netflix’s “Skywalkers: A Love Story” would have been just fine if it dropped the “A Love Story” part, because the very activity driving the couple at its center is entertaining enough. Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus live off what’s known as “rooftopping.” They find ways to defy security and climb massive structures, producing stunning photographs along the way that have become their livelihood. In a sense they are social media outlaws, garnering fame by breaking the rules with a bit of acrobatic artistry thrown in. 2022 brought the couple into major global radars when they climbed Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka 118, the world’s second-tallest skyscraper. Here we get the inside scoop on how it was done and the romance ends up in the back seat.

Directors Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina fashion a narrative that begins with the climbers’ individual backgrounds. Both are young Russians who grew up in the grey post-Soviet days. Ivan liked solitude and discovered climbing as a way to escape the world below, eventually becoming so famous on social media for his extreme stunts that he attracted sponsors. Angela came from a circus family and developed a strong, independent mindset. Her combination of artful acrobatics when she discovered rooftopping brought her to the attention of Ivan, who needed a female counterpart at the urging of a travel brand. The two naturally bonded by combining Ivan’s fearless drive to go higher around the world with Angela’s classy style. Then Covid-19 shuts down the world, sapping away sponsors. When Russia invades Ukraine, their essential social media platforms are shut down too. Desperate to still live off their passion, Ivan figures climbing Merdeka 118 is a big enough move to grab attention.

“Skywalkers” really thrives primarily on the images of the vertigo-inducing work Angela and Ivan pull off. Without it, the documentary can feel like two attractive people showing off their rather tame love story because they have access to 4K equipment. At times one wishes Zimbalist and Bukhonina would linger even more on Ivan sneaking his way up the Eiffel Tower amid fog and angry security guards, or the couple prancing around the tops of Notre Dame. Each rooftopping venture surely has intriguing, frightening details. We get a hint of it when the couple starts practicing for Merdeka 118 and Angela freezes out of sheer, genuine fright when she realizes just how high they’re going. There is a wealth of material since this is a career entirely dependent on drones and GoPros. What diet or exercise routine does a rooftopper discipline themselves into? Do they take anti-nausea pills up there? 

Yet there are moments where the relationship angle melds better with the rooftopping. After the initial sparks, once the two are very serious, those typical tensions start to emerge, except this time it can happen thousands of feet up in the air. Angela will start feeling as if Ivan is becoming too worried about her, taking on a paternal role she resents, eventually snapping at him and refusing help. She feels he’s “limiting her” by being overly caring, until family and friends say it’s not so bad considering the dangers of their chosen trade. Aside from the threat of Angela packing her things and leaving after a fight, there’s not much else in terms of genuine intensity when it comes to the domestic life material. 

Where their bond truly shines is during the actual climb up Merdeka 118. At the time, the resulting images were so eye-popping that the Malaysian government opened and investigation, while internet chatter wondered if they were even real. The proof is all here that the couple did pull it off, to physical extremes that are daunting. Even before they reach the peak of the skyscraper, they need to evade security and construction workers. At one point, the two are entrapped in a dusty, humid space for 19 hours, or so the documentary claims. The documentary never necessarily questions why even go through such a stunt, but the content is suspenseful enough on its own. It’s easy to suspect people like this are simply hooked on the high (which then generates revenue if you become a social media sensation).  Angela and Ivan learn about old rooftopping friends who have died. Do they think it was worth it? Never does this quick, glossy documentary get deep enough to ask.

Questions and qualms with the fashion shoot style of certain sections aside, “Skywalkers” builds to a finale where we are in suspense hoping the couple makes it, even if we know they did. The footage is simply too engrossing to ignore when they reach that peak and perform a risky pose, with the rest of the world looking so wide and far away. As documentary subjects, Angela and Ivan are also likable as adventurous types. We may scoff at social media lifestyles, but they at least take real risks to justify getting all those likes and sponsors. What this documentary does best is briefly place us in those moments where they stand at the edge of some enormous structure and courageously, sometimes fearfully, look down below. Sometimes, to go through that with or for someone, you really do have to love them.

“Skywalkers: A Love Story” begins streaming July 18 on Netflix.