A casual browse of the internet will bring you across videos and pictures of young people, who mostly seem to be Russian, posing atop high buildings with the casual air of being on the poolside. It is a trend that is as stupid as it is empty, and The Hanging did nothing to change my view of that.
Kirill is supposedly called 'The Russian Spiderman', although he could be called many shorter names too. The film follows him as he and his friends vandalize the locks of a building to get access to the roof so they can mess around and take pictures for the internet. This seems to be the main driver for doing it, and while life is on the line, it is no different than anyone else taking pictures of their food, or endless trying to capture the perfect 'spontaneous' moment so that they can get online affirmation of their worth.
The documentary tries to do something to give it more gravitas, and it allows Kirill to speak and talk through his passion. Unfortunately it gives him an open floor, which results in him speaking like all of us when we are young - finding depth and meaning in the pointless, considering themselves edgy and different when really the rebellion and risk-taking in some form is just a perfectly ordinary stage - just the majority of people come out of it at some point. The film may have been more interesting if it had not been so enamored with its subject, and had pushed back on him a bit to stimulate more conversation. As it is though, there is nothing to this film aside teenage-style angst, and the buzz of a filmmaker being close to someone they consider cool.
