Almost on the eve of the next Olympics, Disney Plus has released a duly entertaining and emotional, although somewhat long-winded and discursive, biopic about The first woman to swim across the English Channel, Gertrude Ederlefamiliarly known as TrudyThat happened in 1926, and until then only four men had achieved such a feat.
The first, the captain Matthew Webb1875, which took almost 22 hours, 5 of them fighting against unexpectedly rough currents. The fourth, the Argentine Enrique Tiraboschi1923, in just 16 and a half hours. A record, until the young American Ederle appeared and did it in 14 and a half.
It was not just a question of speed and endurance. It was necessary to study the currents, the threat of jellyfish and especially the low temperature of the water (Webb He anointed himself with porpoise oil, Gertrude (with sheep fat, today thermal tights and special oils are enough). But before that there is another story.
The film dedicates its first part to telling the life of the girls Ederledaughters of German immigrants who raised them as they saw fit, that is, the father was a forest ranger. Walking around in a swimsuit with bare legs was not for decent girls. Luckily, the mother thought differently. That’s how Gertrude She became not only a swimmer, but also a record-holder in various competitions, and a member of a women’s team that made history at the 1924 Olympics in Paris (women had been competing in swimming since 1912).
In 1925 he wanted to cross the Channel, he couldn’t, but he succeeded the following year, under the guidance of Jabez Wolffe and Bill Burgess (the second to cross it, 1911). That takes up the second hour of the film, which is the best. Then there would come the tributes for Trudy, the triumphal parade in New York, other competitions, the comedy “Swim Girl, Swim”, with Bebe Danielsand, as an older man, designing sportswear and living a peaceful old age, until he was 98 years old.
Later, other swimmers would also come, who crossed the Channel inspired by her, like the one from Buenos Aires Enriqueta Duarte1951 (the first Argentine and Latin American to do so) and, last year, the Rio Negro Ailen Lascano Micaz. They are worth taking into account.
Director, Joachim Ronning (“Kon-Tiki”). Protagonist, Daisy Ridley, thin and pretty, nothing to do with the real one Ederlewho had tough features, so to speak. Script, Jeff Nathansonfaithful to a feminist discourse.
Base of inspiration, the book “Young Woman and the Sea” by Glenn Stouta prolific author and editor of sports stories, and also of crime, such as “Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America’s Original Gangster Couple”about the marriage of Richard and Margaret Whittemoreterror of the banks until 1926, when they were arrested. But that is another story.
“The young woman and the sea” (Young Woman and the Sea, USA, 2024); Dir.: Joachim Ronning. Int.: Daisy Ridley, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia. Disney Plus/Star.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
