This is the type of documentary that is especially amazing if you, like me, know nothing about its subject. It’s about the exploits of Shane McConkey, an extreme skier and BASE jumper from Vancouver, and is almost like a version of Grizzly Man for extreme sports enthusiasts.
From the beginning of the movie we’re introduced to a young man over whom death seems to have no power. Establishing the presence of death in every moment of this guy’s life, and his open defiance of death, inevitably makes death the central pervading motif for the entire movie, and adjusts your expectations for what’s coming. You know from the first few moments, seeing and listening to various talking heads describe him in the past tense and McConkey’s absence from these interviews, that he’s no longer with us.
That makes the movie a celebration of his life, and of his unique character. It seems almost like a cliché for documentaries to unearth all this old footage of a person who just happened to practically record their entire life on video, but it’s never less than incredible to see, especially for someone whose career—if you can call it that; life passion, maybe—as a skier and adrenaline junkie spanned multiple decades. One of the greatest joys of watching the progression of McConkey’s life is to see his progress as a person, going from immature kid to the kind of grown man who maintains that adolescent sense of invincibility. I can’t recommend this movie enough; it hit me in all the places I had hoped Rush would hit me.
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