Sky Ladder: The Art Of Cai Guo-Qiang

Oscar-winner Kevin Macdonald chronicles the creation of a real life, illuminated stairway to heaven in the stylish 75-minute documentary "Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Giang."

A thousand years ago the Chinese accidentally invented gunpowder while looking for an immortality elixir. They called it "fire medicine." Son of a calligrapher, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Giang found his own creative voice through this medium, culminating in the realization of his exploding ladder in the sky on June 15, 2015, likening his passion for the project to the way Christians try to reach God via towering church spires.

"Playing with gunpowder set me free," he says.

Through interviews and footage (mostly in Chinese with English subtitles), Cai's failed attempts to create the project are captured: His first try in Bath, England, in 1994; an aborted attempt in Shanghai in 2001 (canceled after 9/11); and Los Angeles in 2012 (his permit revoked due to wildfire risk), as well as his meteoric rise as a global pioneer in this new field.

He's obsessed with color and the size of the flame, as well as the animals that populate his large-scale installations.

Critics note his deep social conscience and his strong environmental subtext, reflecting his homeland's burning issues, He used biodegradable colored powders to engineer a spectacular fireworks display to open his show "Ninth Wave," launched from a boat in three stages: 1. Elegy, 2. Remembrance, 3. Consolation.

Cai grew up during the brutal Cultural Revolution when "everything was smashed," but his father managed to bring home books from his government job running a bookstore. In the late 1980s, Cai studied theater in college, then moved to Japan to explore art in the Western world.

In 1995, he and his family permanently moved to New York City, where he became a media darling for "art and entertainment" with his explosive events, including "The Century of Mushroom Clouds: Project for the 20th Century" in Nevada, in 1996, plus commissions around the world, including in Central Park, Argentina, Paris and Qatar, plus "extending" the Great Wall with explosions in the Gobi Desert.

While socially and politically conscious, he's also questioned about his work for the Chinese government, most notably for his creation of the opening ceremony fireworks at the Beijing Olympics. One representative says, "We'll support you if you follow the rules," and Cai believes that it's easier to change the system by working within it. Another notes that, "the more successful an artist is, the more dangerous a situation is."

For his fourth "Sky Ladder" attempt, Cai ends up on Huiyu Island, in Quanzou, a fishing village reminiscent of his 100-year-old grandmother's home, which was destroyed by development. Some of his team worry about the expense of the project, "like burning money."

His impetus for creating this particular piece came from his thoughts "about the Apollo 11 lift off... and how space aliens would see our planet." While my dog would hate this explosive medium, Cai's ground- and sky-breaking work is a marvel, as is this filmed document of the man and his output.

"Art could be my space-time travel," Cai says, "connecting me to the universe."

For documentary screening and streaming info, visit http://www.slashfilm.com/sky-ladder-trailer/