Young Woman and the Sea

A rousing family film whose message of female empowerment feels contemporary.

Based on Glenn Stout’s book, director Joachim Ronning’s absorbing drama does a masterful job of showing the obstacles thrown at the daughter of German immigrants while on her 21-mile trek from France to England.

A film that is full of production value, filmed with classic elegance and that, above all else, shows new generations a situation that, beyond any commercial imposition, had to be deeply complicated for female development. [Full review in Spanish]

A capable cast and crew make Young Woman and the Sea an enjoyable, if predictable, story of empowerment.

The film evokes all of the usual biopic tropes while painting a standard picture of an extraordinary hero.

Ederle’s story feels honed at all times for maximum sympathy along the way, but can’t help impressing us, a century down the line, as a study in not giving up.

"Young Woman" tells of Trudy Ederle's groundbreaking English channel swim, where the 1924 Paris Olympian broke the men's record by 2 hours. Very inspiring.

Anyone who says, “They don’t make movies like that anymore” should see [this film]. This rousing old-fashioned sports biopic has rich characters and relationships that make the triumph of the first woman to swim across the English Channel truly soar.

Young Woman and the Sea swims decently enough through familiar waters to present a steady, sturdy, and safe sports drama.

As an accurate account, Young Woman and the Sea might be flawed, but this is still a fascinating, engaging look at an athlete who captured America’s – and the world’s – attention a century ago.