Maidentrip

Just saw this at Hot Docs in Toronto last night. If you want to know what sailing around the world is like, this is the movie for you. Not so long ago, we didn't have the technology to make filming a journey like this so easy. We are shown a pretty complete set of film documenting the various legs of the journey, from sunny becalmed days, to hair raising stormy seas rounding South Africa.

I guess like everyone I wondered how someone so young could make such a journey. We follow the back story of Laura's life as she spends her first 5 years at sea around New Zealand and as a very young girl helping her single dad restore their boat, the Guppy. When you see her on the boat sailing, you immediately grasp that this person is at one with the boat and with the sea and any doubts disappear. The boat is exactly made to order, everything in its place, strong, simple. Restoring and basically rebuilding the boat from scratch was probably the best thing for someone undertaking such a journey. You must be totally aware of absolutely everything on a boat, how it works, and how to repair it.

This doc reminded me of a film I saw about the Golden Globe race in 1968, called Deep Water. Laura refers to Bernard Moitessier and how he fell in love with the sailing and forgot about the race he was on, continuing on into the south pacific.

The animation sequences showing the path of the boat on various charts of the world are very imaginatively done, you get a real sense of the journey. What a way to see our beautiful planet and all the various life forms.

This extraordinary documentary is a winner. Laura Dekker's story is one not just for marine enthusiasts but for everyone. It has the potential to inspire through its simple acknowledgment that boundaries are imposed by others and not by ourselves.

The documentary is mainly just Laura and her boat, Guppy. It reminded this reviewer a lot of the same feeling as Redford's superb All is Lost, and is certainly way better than many other ocean sailing films and documentaries made at huge expense. Maidentrip is simple, clear, very well-edited, with some clever graphics, and it makes for a very good watch indeed.

Above all, this is a film that you wish would be shown to Laura's age group - it demonstrates beyond doubt that allowed the chance they really can be an amazing generation.

I'm with the guy that says something isn't right . . . . It doesn't add up; and quite frankly, I found the film too effervescent. I think there's something fishy going on, and just meeting people on an island, making friends with a weird couple. Nah. It smells rigged (pun). She's arrogant, and yes, spoiled or something akin to it. I found her annoying. Was glad to see her sailing off into the sunset. Good riddance, Brat!

Maidentrip is a beautiful documentary about Laura Dekker's year and a half voyage to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world. Dekker, who is Dutch, set sail from Gibraltar in 2010 and made the journey in a year and half, finishing a few months after her 16th birthday. Her route took her to St. Martins, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Austrailia, the Cape of Good Hope, and back to St. Martins.

This movie is amazing first because of the premise--that a girl, 14, would even try such an amazing task. We learn that Laura is no ordinary girl--from an early age she loved sailing, and in fact would sail all over Holland by herself by the age of 10. In 2009, only 13 years old, she sailed across the English Channel from Holland and back by herself. When it became known that she intended to sail around the world, Dutch authorities attempted to remove her from her father's custody to keep her from making the trip. After a court victory, the way was cleared for her.

As we follow Laura on her journey, what we realize is that, however young she is, this is a remarkable person with a vision. The trip becomes something of a work of art--she photographs it all herself-- and so is really a sort of view of the entire world through her lens. Additionally, we get to know a story of her tumultuous past and how her voyage potentially can liberate her, and the story is compelling. Laura is involved in an immense but joyful struggle to see the world, show us her experience, and even fully create herself as a person. It is an amazing story.

Maidentrip is the story of a 14-16 year old girl who wants to sail around the world alone.

As anyone who has spent time sailing alone, that is an extremely powerful premise on itself. The film maker made a brilliant decision to focus on this premise and not go to deeply into the other interesting aspects such as the mechanics of sailing or the adventures ashore. This film focuses on the type of person who wants to tackle the oceans alone as while as the freedom, loneliness and adventure of such a trip.

Where this film really shines is that to shows instead of telling. It has scenes of her finding great comfort in the company of dolphins instead of scenes of her crying or complaining. It has scenes of her silently embracing the beauty of the exotic islands she visits instead of a tourists itinerary of her shore visits. Laura is also great on camera, showing her strength, vulnerabilities and quirky teenage personality without resorting to drama or shock value.

And then the last scene... This is what made me rate this movie a 10. After completing here around the world voyage she leaves the Caribbean to head for New Zealand. In the voice over she talks about how she found a crewmate to share this new voyage with and how if she doesn't like New Zealand she will just push off for another port. It starts as a close up on "Guppy" sailing confidently under full sail and pans out until the boat is but a small spec on the giant ocean. That scene really captured the power of a young girl determined to chart her own course in life.