A sailing buddy of mine had suggested I watch this many months ago. I kept putting it off. But finally, he mentioned it again. I don't know if he just forgot that he already told me about it, or whether he was being insistent. But anyway, I ordered a used copy off Amazon, and we watched it last week, my husband and I. Well, sort of. Unlike when I watched [[ASIN:B000VKL6ZW Deep Water]], husband could not stay in the same room, while this movie was going on. I understand a little bit, his reasons.
The movie is full of. . . and I mean *FULL* of. . . privileged twenty-somethings. There are a few people who clearly did not come from as privileged a background as the majority of the other "kids." (I'm almost 40, so I am to that point where twenty-somethings are considered "kids" to me.)
It really is a reality show, made into a movie. Mr. Disney basically sponsored a reality show, in which 30 applicants were screened to find 11 people (had to be under 25-years-old) who would form a team for the Transpac 2007. The Transpac is an annual sailboat race from L.A. to Hawaii.
I'll be honest, sometimes I cringed at the superficiality of some of the contestants. Sometimes my heart was warmed by some contestants' sincerity. However, no matter how alien some of them seemed to me, by the end of the movie, I could see that all of them had really displayed a tremendous amount of teamwork, and it really does boil down to that. The movie was about the dynamics of people. Sailing on the open ocean necessitates teamwork (even Robin Knox-Johnston, Ellen MacArthur, Bernard Moitessier, Jessica Watson, and the like had a lot of help in preparation). A metaphor for life, really.
Very jealous, was I, by the end of the movie. But you know what they say about jealousy. Jealousy helps you figure out what you next want to work to achieve. It was just an awesome movie in that respect. I agree with other reviewers that it would have been nice to see more technical aspects. [[ASIN:B001E6FJQ4 Wind]] was nice in that respect because, well, not only was the lead female an avid sailor, but she was also an engineer, and a sailmaker, whereas the only female aboard [[ASIN:B001HN6968 Morning Light]] does something very un-teamlike. Maybe that just rubbed me the wrong way because I see that a lot at work, where people don't heed my warnings, and end up back in my clinic.
I admire all those sailors who worked so hard to accomplish this journey. But I mostly admire Rick Deppe (the camera-man who lived on boat with these people) for his awesome footage. He is interviewed a little bit in the extra bits on the DVD. My favorite quote, "Well, I don't normally sail with people like you, but..." Because of his great camera-work, this movie surpasses [[ASIN:B001E6FJQ4 Wind]] for footage.
[[ASIN:B001HN6968 Morning Light]] is a must-see for all sailing clubs, one of those movies for movie night, or before a big race. It's that inspiring. Thank you, Mr. Disney.