Laura Dekker—that’s her
name. And if you haven’t heard it
before, you won’t forget it after watching “Maidentrip,” a documentary about
how Ms. Dekker (a teenager from Holland) became the youngest person to sail
around the world alone. Still, initially
you have to wonder—how can a documentary possibly do such a story justice? Shouldn’t this have been a younger “All is
Lost”? And yet though “Maidentrip” is
mostly made up of videos Ms. Dekker made on her journey, it’s still an honest depiction
of a vulnerable voyager alone in the world.
And while it’s clear that director Jillian Schlesinger wanted to create
a full portrait of her subject, watching the movie, you get the feeling that
Ms. Dekker was never afraid create a complete picture of herself, even when she was feeling irritable or cruel.
But before all that, the movie begins with a media
circus, as Holland’s government attempts to prevent Ms. Dekker’s Guinness-baiting journey. Naturally, they fail and soon, she’s out in
the ocean, standing on the edge of her sailboat (the cutely named
“Guppy”). And there’s poetry out there, in
the Sun and the waves, and especially in the moment when Ms. Dekker films a
pair of dolphins, close to tears as she says she’s grateful for the company.
How can you not love her in that moment? Ms. Dekker is honest on film about being
frustrated with loneliness, and not being able to run around on her small boat. But she also admits that she prefers solitary
sailing to being with other people and there are certainly moments when that
sentiment seems relatable. “Can you shut
up for a second?” Ms. Dekker snaps at a reporter who’s getting on her
nerves. It’s a bratty request, but it’s
hard not to sympathize. After all, who
hasn’t savored solitude in the same way?
Unfortunately, that fact also constitutes the sad beauty
of “Maidentrip.” For Ms. Dekker, land is
no home (she talks about hating Holland in the movie, about having nothing in
common with its people besides speaking their language), but is the sea any
better? She seems happier adventuring,
but that still made me sad. Sure, by the
end of the film Ms. Dekker seems committed to a life of eternal sailing, especially
since she acquires a significant other to share the solitude (a fact the film
acknowledges with sloppy abruptness).
Yet I couldn’t help wondering if that would be enough, and whether or
not a part of her might be crying out for something more than a boyfriend and
an ocean.
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