Maiden

source: Maiden

Alex Holmes does a great job at showing an evolution of Edward's self transformation. Her endurance in keep the Maiden,all-woman team together going for an adventure, whilst the then media securitized them. This documentary shows the bias attitudes of the sailing community. The film tries to idea of achieving the impossible. Edwards candid recollections of the 1989-1990 sailing by Maiden's sailing team is quite woven well together with members interviewed. Edwards was awarded an MBE, highest recognition in Britain for her involvement with being both the Skipper and Navigator on the Whitbread competition.

I emailed everyone in my (sailing) family telling them this movie is a must see. I was moved to tears by these extraordinary women, their spirit and bravery. This documentary is so inspiring. Bravo to them and the documentarian.

MAIDEN tells uplifting story of Tracy Edwards and her pursuit of leading an all woman crew on an around the world yacht race on board the ship of the same name back in 1989 - the first such voyage. Director Alex Holmes' interviews the magnetic Edwards and much of her crew (and some of her opponents and detractors) in depicting the tale of the runaway British teenager who somehow stumbled in the world of competitive sailing. While hanging out on the sailing circuit, Edwards fell in love with it and talked her way aboard a racing ship in the mid-80s - as a cook to an all-male crew. Along the way, she befriended King Hussein of Jordan, who would later provide crucial financing for her own 1989 crew. Holmes has made a fairly standard Doc. Interviews inter-cut with clips. Unfortunately, his decision to crop and stretch the mostly videotape period footage to full-screen makes the already degraded images look even worse than necessary. Oddly, the 8mm home movie footage IS shown in the proper aspect ratio (hardly the first example of doing this - But, why is old film sacred, but, it's ok to stretch TV news video?). The effect is to make the VHS stuff look extremely blurry and washed out. Obviously, you use what you have access to*, but, by stretching and zooming in it makes it look like it all happened even longer ago than it did. More fundamentally, Holmes does a mediocre, at best, job of giving the viewer all the necessary information about the Whitbread Round the World Race that is the centerpiece. One has to piece together how long it is, how many legs, what the rules are, the different classes etc.. How did a cook become a world class navigator? The movie doesn't even bother to explain who King Hussein was - and, I wager that for most folks under 50, when they hear "Hussein" they think of Saddam or Obama's middle name. Heck, you have to be an eagle-eyed end credits watcher to even note that Edwards has been awarded an MBE. Such fundamental questions and quite a few others are curiously never explained, nor even brought up. There is also no customary end of the movie on screen crawl updating what Edwards et. al. have been doing since (Edwards attempted another around the world trip with an all woman crew in 1998). Of course, not every Documentary has to follow the traditional format (although it does in most ways), but it leaves the movie seemingly curiously incomplete. MAIDEN is a great story told in an indifferent manner. It's worth seeing for the subject matter if nothing else (also, because it's visually so insufficient, it's hard to recommend it on the big screen; it will look better at home). Still, the images of this crew of women seen in tandem with those of the U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team is stirring. The constant use of the word "girls" when describing the women even in the contemporary interviews shows how all is still not equal (and, the vintage newscast commentary is a whole other level). One step at a time. One sail at a time. * Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be any 16mm footage included of the voyage itself. Hard to believe than no TV channels, Networks or filmmakers didn't film at least part of the race. It's all presented on videotape (some shot by the crew itself) and photographs (which look fine). It also doesn't look like there was much digital clean-up done of the taped segments (probably a budget consideration). It's too bad. With such great scenery on the open seas to behold, it's mainly an eyestrain.

"Maiden" (2018 release; 97 min.) is a documentary about the all-female crew of the Maiden in the Whitbread Round the World sailing competition. As the movie opens, it is "September 2, 1989, Southampton", the day that the Whitbread race begins, and we get to know Tracy Edwards, the 27 year old skipper of the Maiden. We then go back in time to Tracey's upbringing, where her parents instill a sense of determination in her. It eventually leads her to want to compete in the Whitbread race, and in 1986 she announces her intent to do the 1989 race with an all-female crew... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie. Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Alex Holmes. Holmes one the one hand uses the ample archive video and TV footage from that era, and also interviews the 12 member crew of the Maiden, who all look back to what took place in the late 80s with a sense of pride and amazement. Tracy Edwards makes a great subject matter and interviewee. When you see this young woman not only have the dream of doing this, and then actually DOING it albeit not without problems and challenges, you feel so inspired. (One of the biggest challenge turned out to be finding a sponsor for the boat: Edwards approached literally hundreds and hundreds of companies, and NOT ONE SINGLE company was interested in stepping up. How she managed this financially is explained in the film.) There is an amazing amount of footage from on the ship itself, and it raised the hairs on my arms as you see them sailing on the Southern oceans. I am going on record already to predict that "Maiden" will get an Oscar nomination for BEst Directory early next year. I had seen the trailer for "Maiden" and couldn't wait to see it. The film opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended poorly (5 people in total). That's a darn shame. Hopefully this film can find a much deserved wider audience as it launches on other platforms. If you like a good documentary whose timing in today's climate of gender equality is perfect, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

You don't have to be a sailor to appreciate this film (although I am one). Tracy and crew not only had to deal with mother nature's unpredictable elements when racing a sail boat, but, also had to deal with gender inequality in the 80's. The film captures Tracy and crew's challenges in the purest way. From start to finish, one can only imagine what these women had to go through. They never gave up and they handled everything with grace. Truly inspirational and in awe what these women accomplished before the #metoo movement.

This is a film for anyone who's ever been told they'll never make anything of themselves. Truly inspirational. The story of an amazingly strong woman and testimony to human resilience against all the odds.

Greetings again from the darkness. Thanks to Ron Shelton's BULL DURHAM (1988), a favorite sports phrase emerged: 'announcing one's presence with authority'. Perhaps no better phrase exists to describe Tracy Edwards at the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race. The 24 year old Edwards was the skipper-navigator of the first all-women crew to compete in the race ... a grueling every-three-years event where yachts are sailed around the world in multiple stages/legs. Director Alex Holmes takes us back to Ms. Edwards' childhood. We see home movies, interviews with friends, and hear stories to prove she wasn't the easiest child to raise. Maybe too much time is devoted to this section, but it picks up when we get to adult Tracy's story about how she was first attracted to the race and got involved as a cook on one of the vessels. She talks about being treated like a servant by the crew and how that inspired her idea to assemble an all-woman crew and race their own boat. The interviews include other skippers (men, of course), the journalists who covered the race (men, of course), and the crew members from the Maiden. We see them today, and have the "then" photos and clips to gain an appreciation of the 30 years that have passed. We hear that "being girls is like being disabled in the sailing world", and one can sense the attitude (even today) of the competitors. The race covers 33,000 nautical miles, but Ms. Edwards' historic voyage started long before they set sail. She speaks to the difficulty of fundraising - two years of almost no money, and how Jordan's King Hussein not only inspired her, but also assisted. A second-hand boat at a reduced cost put the crew to work on rehabilitation, and this 'sweat equity' likely made them more determined than ever. "The probability of not making it is high." Self-doubt and insecurities bubbled up. Once the race got underway, the women were a team. Terrific archival footage puts us right there with the crew - massive waves, ice on the sails, incredible cold and wind. These obstacles from nature care not if the crew is man or woman. Ms. Edwards' leadership is on full display during the various legs of the race. It's clear by the end that they have gained respect of those who doubted them, and the warm reception proves how strong their fan base was. It's certainly not the first sports movie featuring underdogs. In fact, the Jamaican bobsled team is a comparison that comes to mind as a group of dedicated competitors given little chance to succeed by those 'in the know'. Here's hoping the inevitable Hollywood dramatization never occurs, as no actor could tell it better than those who performed the work and raced the race.

Sail around the world with a fearless female crew - the first ever only 30 years ago to race in the Whitbread and defy critics. Very entertaining, inspiring and funny! A must see even if you're someone who thinks they don't like documentaries.

One of the best sporting documentaries ever made, you are with the all female crew (even if you are male) all the way. Through the all the lows and all the highs. The original footage makes it totally authentic. There is excitement, humour and pathos. There are no dull moments or flat spots, the film just grips you from start to finish. You don't have to like sailing or documentaries to love this movie.