La joven y el mar

I enjoyed this movie and I recommend it to everybody who wants to enjoy 2h of a very very good movie. This is the story of Trudy, a woman who defied all boundaries to prove to the skeptics that she was chosen, gifted with the ability to swim as swiftly as a marlin. Trudy Ederle's persistence and determination became a testament to the heights a human being can reach. She battled the treacherous waters of the English Channel, overcoming not only the physical challenges but also the doubts of those who believed such a feat was beyond her capabilities. Through relentless training and an unyielding spirit, Trudy shattered records and made history, showing the world the true power of human perseverance and fortitude. Hero!

Ridley does a phenomenal job representing Trudy Ederly, a passionate young woman determined to swim, regardless of what the world (mostly men) say. Her determination and resilience is well played throughout the story, sometimes in tearjerking scenes of struggle, other times in quiet moments of stubbornness and strength. Props to the cast for a stout performance all around.

That being said, I couldn't love this movie and felt repeatedly taken out of the moment by the relentless preachy nature of the writing and the stereotypical male characters. While the key component of this story is a woman overcoming physical and cultural obstacles to perform incredible feats of athleticism, the male characters are often so exaggerated in their misogyny and incredulity that I often felt I couldn't relate to any of the males. They were either so unbelievably simple and played up for comic effect (the suitors the father brings the girls), unjustifiably rude, even given the cultural norms of the time, bombastically obstinate (the father) or they were outright malicious. This treads far beyond the facts of the true story of Trudy, making grand presumptions about how hated she was by the men of her time.

Don't get me wrong, she was dealing with sexism and cultural inequality, and the film NEEDED that to cut through to give power to the character arc of Trudy, which I understood. But the authenticity and nuance which shines through in Ridley's performance is often overshadowed by single-dimensional, poorly written male characters with little or no redeeming quality.

I loved watching her journey and I'd watch it again, but hated how the males were misrepresented and maligned consistently throughout the film.

Terrible title aside - I'm really happy to see Disney making this type of movie again! Young Woman and the Sea could have been made at basically any point in the last 50-60 years exactly as is, and that's a compliment. The kind of well-made, heartfelt "family entertainment" that studios used to release regularly but not so much anymore. While I wish it got a wide theatrical release (it deserves to), I'm still happy I got to enjoy this wonderful and inspirational film! Quite shocked by how much I was pulled in by Young Woman and the Sea. Daisy Ridley's endearing performance as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel, is a constant delight. Possibly my favorite performance from her yet. But the real star is Amelia Warner's stirring score that gives this cliched but inspiring true sports story its heart and vigor. There's nothing revelatory here but as far as swimming biopics go, I at least found it to be an enjoyable watch!

This is one of those rare cases of a film so well written and directed that you get drawn to being emotionally invested in the outcome even though, with it being a true story, you know how it ends before the film even starts.

Whilst I didn't know about Trudy Ederle before the film came out, and I'm sure the writers have taken a few liberties with all the facts for dramatic purposes, the central theme remains faithful. That is a talented woman who had to overcome the inherent bias of women in sport to achieve her ultimate success. And this is where the film hits all the right notes building up that picture of her fight to be allowed to swim, to be allowed to attempts tje channel swim and to ultimately succeed.

The film also benefits from a great cast, with great performances. Stephen Graham and Kim Bodnia are as reliable as ever, Jeanette Hain, Sian Clifford and Tilda Cobham-Hervey put in great supporting performances as mother, trainer and sister respectively. However, this for me is Daisy Ridley's finest performance to date and marks her out as a serious dramatic actress where she can finally shake off the threat of only being remembered as Rey from the SW franchise.

It's a simple story, told in a very understated way and that is its strength. The story sells itself and the director just shines light on it. Very well done.

I managed to catch Young Woman and the Sea during its cinema run and I have to say I thought it was a great film. Daisy Ridley was excellent as Trudy Ederle and really proved herself as a first rate actress in this film. The film itself felt like a rarity in today's landscape of overly CGI-d superheroes and sci-fis. This was a good old fashioned story, well told with great actors, nice cinematography and a strong script. That being said, I have to say that the British equivalent, an indie titled, Vindication Swim, was the better of the two Channel swimming films released this year. That one takes place a year after Trudy's swim and is based on the first British woman to swim the Channel, Mercedes Gleitze. I felt the swimming sequences were far more varied and visually spectacular in what I assume was a much lower budget film than this outing by Disney. Likewise I feel that story had more to it in terms of the struggle faced by its protagonist (interestingly both women are of German heritage and a good deal of the story is about them proving themselves to being American and British respectively). That being said Young Woman the and Sea is by no means a bad film. Far from it, it is actually excellent, especially in the rousing climactic sequence. I really do hope Disney continues to make films like this one.