X
- 2015
- PG
- CNN Films
- 1 h 41 m
- 2015
- PG
- CNN Films
- 1 h 41 m
Summary A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.
Directed By: Marah Strauch
Written By: Marah Strauch
- 2015
- PG
- CNN Films
- 1 h 41 m
- 2015
- PG
- CNN Films
- 1 h 41 m
Sunshine Superman
70
7.5
Where to Watch
Summary A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.
Directed By: Marah Strauch
Written By: Marah Strauch
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
70
85% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
15% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
70
85% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
15% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Strauch creates enormous drama from the clips at her disposal — not just the Boenish material, but movie clips and found footage, all of which is deftly handled.
First-rate assembly has a real dramatic grip as well as considerable lightheartedness, the obvious standout element being the large chunks of startling freefall and helicopter camera footage, both new and archival.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
7.5
82% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
9% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
9% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
7.5
82% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
9% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
9% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
This movie has something for everyone. From thrilling action scenes in incredibly beautiful locations to a story of a visionary adventurer in Carl Boenish. In her debut film, Marah Strauch tells the story of the father of BASE jumping, Carl Boenish, and his partner in adventure, his wife Jean. This film takes us to the breathtaking heights of El Capitan in Yosemite to the hair-raising cliffs of the Troll Wall in Norway to tell the story of BASE jumping. The story of Carl and Jean's love affair is a stark contrast to the incredibly exciting life they led as a couple and their love affair with the sky. Go see this movie!
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Sunshine Superman, a portrait of BASE jumping founding father Carl Boenish, effectively captures the irrepressible energy of a man who never tired of taking flying leaps. But it also does something even rarer for the documentary genre: It demands to be shown on an IMAX screen.
The footage is striking, the memories of the man vivid, and the finale, a tribute to the next phase of the sport, winged suits, which Carl didn’t live to see, still stuns you.
Glorious daredevilry is wrapped in a slowly evolving ache in Sunshine Superman, a bittersweet documentary about Carl Boenish, who looked at very tall things and saw an opportunity to leap.
Intermittently compelling but rather unfortunately titled documentary.
Strauch’s direction, in contrast, is numbingly uninspired, adhering stringently to the Doc. 101 assembly-line template cultivated by the film’s executive producer Alex Gibney.
To name up the last true moments of reviewing before the big major movies get released somewhere tomorrow, I'll make a review to this movie. So far, it's fun... but not great... but still enjoyable and fun.
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For man is incapable of resisting the temptation of flight.
There's an interesting charm of defying gravity and plummeting oneself from extreme places, swirling away from the nature, crowd and traffic below. Sunshine Superman is documentary about Carl Boenisch's life and his drive which pioneers extreme sport of base jumping. It's a humble, true to life outlook on his passion which is fascinatingly infectious and inspiring.
The movie depicts early days of base jumping before it was even called that. Using plenty of Carl's and his crew's perspective to display the thrill and deliver the brief few seconds where men take flight. Many of the clips come from retro films, which have surprisingly refined technical effect considering they had no advance tech or even GoPro back then and even had to use makeshift tools.
There's a bit of narrative to string everything together, aside from the actual interviews or personal clips. Contrary to the dangerous vibe the sport might present, Carl is a modest man. He's warm and avid about the life style, one can't help to be engage by his sheer energy. Many testimonies further set his personality, and even though he's not involved directly in this documentary, audience can still connect to the man.
It gives some ideas to casual viewers about the sport, how it began, the original team behind it and what kind of tribulation they went through. The movie is easily accessible, using simple terms and approachable real life people. Some of its high octane first person view of the sport is classic yet still exhilarating.
Sunshine Superman is a simple story about energetic man and the origin of intense sport. It presents the extraordinary nature of jumping from great heights and translates it into inviting and friendly experience for all viewers.
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Production Company
Scissor Kick Films,
Flimmer Film,
Head Gear Films,
Metrol Technology,
The Salt Company International
Release Date May 22, 2015
Duration 1 h 41 m
Rating PG
Genres
Tagline a film about falling
Awards
Portland International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Montclair Film Festival (MFF)
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Cleveland International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
