Matrixston
Wow! Such a good movie.
BroadcastChic
Excellent, a Must See
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Ella-May O'Brien
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Leftbanker
This documentary brought me back to that summer sitting on a beach in Hawaii. I was 16 and I read Dove about the voyage of Robin Lee Graham who started his around-the-world sailing when he was 16. I had never been on a boat and didn't have much desire to do anything similar, neither then of ever since. I have spent a little time on sailboats and I've always thought—if not dreamed—of crossing the ocean on a sailing vessel. I would only do it with someone with a lot more experience and knowledge than what I have gleaned after a couple summers of crewing on a racing yacht. Her bravery is the most inspirational aspect of Maidentrip.What this film represents, at least to me, is the sense of adventure in all of us, whether we have acted on it or not. I've never done anything like this but I haven't exactly been paralyzed with fear, cowering inside a locked room. I just like to read, hear, and watch other people's ideas on the subject. I think that I have acted to fulfill a few of my dreams in life and that has made all the difference, as Frost put it.
llsee
When I first heard of this film, I expected it to be a family friendly tale of another precocious teen. But, it is different. I vaguely recalled hearing of this story, but watching it was fascinating. This is more than the story of a sail around the world, it is the story of a teenager, maturing into a young woman. The Laura Dekker we see at the end of this film is a more mature, self-confident and introspective person than the teen we met at the start.This film is not an instructional video on sailing around the world, nor is it an inspiring tale to encourage others to follow her example. But it is a fascinating character study of one young woman, who seems to have been born to make this trip.I checked the 'spoiler' box, but come on... It is a real life story, how can there really be any spoilers? She survived the trip.
Windsun33
I actually watched this reluctantly because someone wanted to see it, and ended up loving it. Not for the plot - there really is no plot (documentaries do that at times) except for her voyage, and the events leading up to it. To me it was just amazing that a young girl could do such an adventure alone, while others of her age were much more worried about how many followers they had on Twitter. Much of the photography sucks (not like a cell phone is a real professional camera) - but that also adds to the feeling of realism, and pushes home the fact that there were no followers, no camera crews around - she was totally on her own. Unlike so many of the pseudo-documentaries this one is not filled with fake drama.
clarkj-565-161336
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.