Awesome Sailing Movie!
Generally, when someone asks me if I’ve seen movie such and such, my response has to be, “No.” We rarely go to the movies.
Heck, we rarely watch them at home; Jeremy uses the Netflix subscription to watch his favorite tv shows way more than we ever watch a movie.
I tend to fall asleep. Even with exciting, action-packed, heavily dramatic music filled movies, the snooze factor is strong in me.
Rare shot at a movie theater, when the Totems came to town. Yes, I fell asleep.
We rented a movie the other night, though, that did NOT put me to sleep.
One Simple Question is Teresa and Ben Carey’s tale of a summer voyage they took from Long Island Sound to the northern reaches of Newfoundland, all in quest of an iceberg. They weave in personal snippets of each of their lives and how they came to be sailing together, in a stout and capable and small cutter-rigged sailboat named Elizabeth. (I love the video footage of Teresa when she’s little, sailing with her dad!)
Climate change is very real. Sailors are painfully aware of this as we deal with weather patterns that continue to change, throwing traditional passage planning into question and upending insurance actuarial tables. Many of us choose this way of life in order to see our natural world up close and personal.
Teresa and Ben, both accomplished sailors with USCG licenses, wanted to see an iceberg for themselves. These incredible things (I’m out of good words to describe them) are birthed, as it were, from glaciers; most of them (all of them?) start in the waters around Greenland and can take 2-3 years to travel down to Newfoundland.
The Careys are nature lovers and sailors. What better way to share all of that with us, and to bring attention to the plight of our natural world, than by creating a beautifully filmed eco-documentary as they travel to the far north reaches to search for an iceberg?
As you might guess, they’re successful!
But the film isn’t just icebergs and nature. It’s life aboard a small sailboat (did I mention that Elizabeth is a Bristol Channel Cutter? Just like Calypso!) and the challenges that come with bad weather. Seasickness. Watch keeping. Cold. Sail changes when it’s rough out.
It’s also a love story. A love story between 2 people, yes, but also the love story of being in love with life and taking action to make your dreams come true. The love of the ocean and sailing. The love of our planet and the fleeting moments we are all capable of reveling in, if we just allow ourselves the possibility.
Go ahead. Buy the movie. You’re in for a treat.
And no, I don’t think you’ll fall asleep.