Feb 04, 4:03 pm
Parkour (often abbreviated PK) or l’art du déplacement (English: the art of movement) is a physical art of French origin in which the participant — called a traceur — attempts to pass in obstacles in the fastest and most direct manner possible. The obstacles can be anything in the environment, so parkour is often practiced in urban areas because of many suitable public structures, such as buildings, rails, and walls.
It’s funny how a film intended to kill a bit of time on a Friday night can reveal a whole world of intrigue. Last night I was introduced to a French film called Banlieue 13, released in the UK fairly quietly last year as District 13. I’m not exactly an action-junkie, but I do like to watch a bit of martial arts and arse-whoopage from time to time. District 13 opened my eyes to a whole new way of movement.
The film stars David Belle (the founder of the Parkour movement) and Cyril Raffaelli (a martial artist and stuntman.) The year is 2010, and the French government have sealed a wall around Paris’ District 13, deemed full of undesirables and teeming with crime. When a nuclear bomb is found within the district, the government orders police captain Damien (Raffaelli) to disarm it within twenty four hours or two million people will perish. To help him through the distopian nightmare of District 13: anti-hero Leito (Belle), unjustly imprisoned with his sister held captive by one of the district’s most powerful mob bosses.
It’s not exactly Shakespeare, but Distict 13’s action sequences set it a million miles apart from many action flicks. Belle and Raffaelli sail through windows, leap incredible distances, and effortlessly swing from building to building like apes from tree to tree. It’s not fancy camera angles. It’s not special effects or wire-work. Parkour is an incredibly atheletic, incredibly beautiful way of getting from A to B in the quickest way possible, using the enviroment to your advantage. It’s not quite martial arts, not quite ballet, but certainly something inbetween.
Having been so impressed by the film, I decided to do a little research on parkour. I was surprised by my findings. Developed by French soliders in Vietnam as a way to reach and escape - it’s all pretty gripping stuff. I was also surprised to learn that many videogames were referenced as containing parkour, and many were published by Ubisoft.
Prince of Persia was a bit of a no-brainer. I challenge anybody who has played any game from the series to watch District 13 and not draw comparisons between Belle and the Prince. Splinter Cell also got a mention (certainly using the reach and escape ethos), as did Assassin’s Creed and Free Running (Free Running is a slight variation of parkour, with more emphasis on athletic flair through flips and tricks.)
If you have any admiration for the wizardry of the human form or just like to see men with six-packs kicking arse, I highly recommend checking out District 13. A trailer can be found here.
And if you fancy checking out David Belle in action, take a peek at this ‘Rush Hour’ clip taken from BBC 1.
