LOS ANGELES, July 23 — Remember the Russian couple who went viral for climbing the Merdeka 118 tower and yet there is no record of them entering or exiting Malaysia?
Well, Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau are now the subject of a Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story that follows their amorous trail, making out on top of various high buildings.
Co-directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Maria Bukhonina, the show shows them climbing some of the highest buildings without stringent safety precautions, making each climb a danger.
Director Zimbalist is quoted in a Netflix promo: “There’s a danger to romance. Here, that danger is material.”
Basically the couple are actively “rooftopping”, a trend popularised by social media where individuals sneak into various buildings, towers or even onto giant cranes just to pose.
Beerkus and Nikolau added a further dimension to their stunts by selling the photos of their activities as NFTs.
Critics have not been kind in their reviews with Decider’s Anna Menta criticising the director of taking into account “the dubious ethics of further glorifying a trend that has killed dozens of young people.”
While Vulture said the film was “watchable”, it also called the film “muddled and predictable.”
The documentary is currently screening on Netflix and viewer discretion is advised as the documentary is full of unrehearsed footage of reckless rooftopping attempts.
You can be the judge whether the documentary is a candid portrayal of a pair of daredevils or an irresponsible promotion of dangerous antics that could encourage others to follow in the couple's footsteps.
