MovieChat Forums > Maidentrip (2013) Discussion > How much sailing?

How much sailing?

posted 10 years ago by achun
12 replies | jump to latest

I am looking forward to seeing Maidentrip when it gets to Seattle later this month. I was wondering, though, how much sailing is actually in the movie. Did Dekker ever fly a trysail? Did she ever practice celestial navigation? Go aloft?

I saw a story that indicates that Dekker has problems with some of director Schlesinger's moviemaking choices: http://www.wavetrain.net/news-a-views/453-laura-dekker-dissing-her-own -movie.

Notwithstanding, I'm sure I will enjoy this film.

Separately, does anyone know when Dekker's book -- Ein Mädchen, ein Traum: Solo um die Welt -- will be published in English translation?

---
You want thingamabobs? I got twenty!

[–] markti-1 10 years ago

It's a fake film.

[–] darko1979 10 years ago

No it's not! This really happened. I live in the Netherlands and Laura headlined the news for a couple of months.

[–] Minocle 10 years ago

The trip is definitely real. So I was wondering what you ment. I haven´t seen the film yet.

[–] geordie-688-809183 10 years ago

Could you elaborate? That comment is vague.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] joshcryer 10 years ago

20% at most, if you exclude the wave scenery. I wanted more but she started off at 14 and it's hard enough juggling the ropes and cameras at the same time. It was a nice movie though. Makes me want to sail around the world. Read many books on the subject.

[–] Clemencedane 10 years ago

There was disappointingly little about the mechanics of sailing. I'd like to have known more about the winds, the route, what sails she used when and why, etc. If you know nothing about sailing going in you won't know anymore at the end.

[–] peters-joel 10 years ago

Yes, I agree, but beyond that, this movie shows so little of what is interesting about cruising sailing, alone or otherwise. For someone who claims to be so interested in other cultures, there is remarkably little about them in this film. None of her anchorages, and few of the islands she visits, are identified. What about her interaction with the residents of all the places she visited? I did some cruising sailing in the 70's from Costa Rica to Cocos Island, then to Galapagos Islands, then the Marquesas, but instead of continuing on as she did, we went from the Marquesas to Hawaii, then finally to California some years later. From my perspective, this film is REALLY disappointing, in so many ways. I don't know whether the decisions about what to include in the film were hers, or the filmmaker/director/editor, but for me they missed the mark, in a big way. I suspect she had enough footage to make a much better and more interesting film.

[–] Clemencedane 10 years ago

Yes, I agree completely. It was about her state of mind and inner progress towards independence or something, but very little about the places she went and the sailing decisions.

[–] film_ophile 9 years ago

yes, dane and peter, i think you are both right. I wish it had been more as well. But i did still find it interesting and inspirational.

The way to have what we want
Is to share what we have.

[–] TxMike 9 years ago

It's always funny to read comments like these, for every documentary, there are always some who wished the content had been different. If a viewer just accepts it for what it is, what they chose to show, it is an excellent film on a unique quest by a headstrong girl. Watching it, it never occurred to me that it should have shown more "sailing", the riggings, sails used, navigational tools, etc. To me it showed just enough to supplement her personal story, which was the focus of the film. Not "the art of sailing."

We saw her in the middle of an ocean for days, maybe weeks, without wind, and how she coped with that boredom. We saw her navigating through tricky waters near Australia and also South Africa, we heard her comment on how she didn't have time for fear, or hunger, or fatigue, she just had to focus on navigating extremely dangerous waters.

It is hard to know how the entire film and its focus could have been improved. I've watched it three times so far, it is a remarkable film about a remarkable achievement.

..*.. TxMike ..*..
Make a choice, to take a chance, to make a difference.

[–] Thornspike 9 years ago

I agree with you! ^This!