The documentary film tells the life of Karl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose passion has begun to embody more skydiving and more amazing and dangerous acts of human journeys along the way. This talented artist tried his amazing journey in life and love, to the height of his accomplishments when he and his wife Jan broke the world record one day.
While the doc takes a conventional and even pedestrian approach -- with multiple talking-head interviews and some re-enactments with actors -- there is also plenty of spectacular archival footage showing jumps dating back to the 1960s.
This documentary about Carl Boenish, founder of modern BASE jumping is a captivating portrait of a man unlike any other. Not just an adrenaline junkie, but a superb cinematographer, technical wizard, philosopher, filmmaker and promoter of his sport.
Boenish's wife, Jean, who trained to jump with him, is interviewed extensively, and, although Strauch doesn't provide much backstory for her, she emerges as that rarity -- a perfect matchup to a seemingly unmatchable man.
Ever watched an extreme sports enthusiast leap off a mountain to his death? No? Then you haven't seen this bittersweet biopic about a compulsive base jumper with a death wish.
Long before there were GoPros, there was Boenish, a camera mounted on his helmet, jumping from Yosemite's El Capitan or L.A. skyscrapers under construction.
