Why This Disney+ Movie Is ‘A Miracle’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Director of YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA Joachim Rønning says making this movie was “a miracle.”
“I’m most proud of it getting made, actually,” he told Movieguide® at this year’s Awards Gala. YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA took home the prize for Best Movie For Mature Audiences.
Rønning said, “It’s been such an amazing journey, all the way through. It’s a real passion project for everyone involved, so this is something I would do again and again if I could.”
“Making any movie is a miracle, and this movie was really hard to make,” he continued. “It took a decade, you know, before we got to make it.”
Rønning also took a moment to spotlight Trudy Ederle, the real-life inspiration for the movie. Ederle was the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
“She’s been forgotten in time, and now she will never be forgotten again, so I’m very grateful for that,” the director shared.
Rønning spoke further about learning Ederle’s story, and why it was so important to him to bring it to life, in an interview with A Rabbit’s Foot.
“When I first read Jeff Nathanson script — almost 10 years ago — that was the first time I learned about Trudy and. I was shocked that I didn’t know about it and I almost felt an obligation to tell the world about her,” he explained. “She was just lost, lost to history. Which is mind-bending, because when it happened 100 years ago, it was such a world event.”
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer also marveled at the fact that Ederle’s story had largely been forgotten before YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA.
“This is the highest-testing movie I’ve ever made, and I’ve made some pretty big hits,” he told Deadline. “It’s the emotion of this young girl who goes through all these trials and tribulations to win and achieve her dream.”
He continued, “When you get to the end and you see the real parade, you say, ‘Oh my god, this is real.’ This girl was forgotten. That was what really excited me about this. I love stories that educate and entertain, and this one not only educates you, it entertains you. And it’s an emotional piece. So many screenings we’ve had, you see people walk out with red eyes. And there’s so much joy in the movie that makes it all worthwhile.”
Rønning touched on some of the movie’s themes, too, saying, “The movie is about family. And sometimes for an audience it can be a little hard to identify with a person like Trudy. She’s exceptional but you need to see her through somebody else’s eyes.”
“To tell the story of the time and what she went through, I used the family as a representation of that society. There’s always different characters: there’s the belief of the mother, there’s the strength and love of the sister, and then there’s the skepticism of the father,” he said. “So much has happened in the last 100 years. Back then women were not allowed to do any kind of sports. Even when swimming, it was in long gowns. Trudy’s feat, and her struggle, probably changed women’s sports forever.”
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