Row of Life is a film about a powerful woman who couldn't bring herself to say, "I can't do it." This film shows the strength of resilience against all odds. Angela Madsen faced more hardships in her life than most of us can even imagine. A great deal of the story is told by her wife, who, like the spouses of other ultra-athletes, recognized the futility of asking her to stop and understood that Angela wouldn't be the person she loved without that drive.
The film starts with Angela's ocean rowing boat on a tropical island beach, then cuts to her backstory, and an influential story it is. While serving as a U.S. Marine, she suffered a crippling back injury. After a botched surgery intended to repair her spine put her in a wheelchair, she faced homelessness and worked through the trauma of becoming disabled. She went on to become a three-time Paralympian and world record breaker, survived breast cancer, and became the first paraplegic woman to row solo across the Atlantic.
The film does a great job of not spoiling the ending, but there are a few minor technical difficulties. In the scenes at sea, some of the dialogue competes with the sound of the waves and can be difficult to understand. The cinematography is somewhat at the mercy of the cameras on Angela's boat. However, I had more difficulty with the scenes filmed off the boat, whether in her home, at her boatshed, or during daily life. These scenes felt a bit drawn out, and it wasn't always clear what the director hoped the audience would take from them.
The scenes in Angela's home were also quite dark and, without narration, it was sometimes difficult to understand their purpose. I believe these moments were included to make Angela a fully fleshed-out person rather than simply a rower. However, that understanding might have been conveyed more effectively in a less protracted manner. Despite these shortcomings, Angela's remarkable story of resilience makes Row of Life valuable to share with a wide variety of audiences. 4 stars. Recommended.
How can Row of Life teach resilience and help instill that valuable trait?
Angela's story offers a powerful example of resilience in the face of extraordinary challenges. After a spinal injury and failed surgery left her paraplegic, she faced homelessness, survived breast cancer, became a three-time Paralympian and world record holder, and continued pursuing increasingly ambitious goals. Her accomplishments demonstrate not only perseverance, but the importance of refusing to allow disability or adversity to define what someone is capable of achieving.
Her work as a Paralympian and rowing instructor also extended beyond her own accomplishments to advocacy for adaptive sports and veterans. For educational audiences, her story can open discussions about resilience, goal-setting, disability, identity, and the ways people adapt when their lives change unexpectedly.
What audiences would find value in showing Row of Life?
Academic librarians and others choosing films for group viewing will find plenty of value in Row of Life. Seeing a disabled athlete accomplish such extraordinary feats feels like exactly what Angela wanted people to take from her story. Much of her work as a Paralympian and rowing instructor centered on advocacy for adaptive sports and veterans.
The film has applications in psychology, athletics, disability studies, LGBTQ+ studies, and courses examining veterans' experiences. It could also support library and community programming centered on resilience, disability advocacy, LGBTQ+ advocacy, adaptive sports, or veterans. Most importantly, Row of Life offers audiences an opportunity to consider how, in the face of tremendous obstacles, people can continue setting ambitious goals and working to achieve them.
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