The stirring and beautifully shot documentary Women & the Wind opens with a frame of fish in calm ocean waters as the film’s title in white font pops against the blue. The film, directed by Alizé Jire, chronicles the 2022 expedition made by Jire, first mate Lærke Heilmann, captain Kiana Weltzien, and Liz the lizard as they cross the North Atlantic in a fifty-year-old wooden catamaran called Mara Noka.
The film, though straightforward in narrative, is rich in complexity of imagery and composition. There’s its seafaring element, a tradition which historically a relatively select few women sailors have experienced (and been accredited as such). There is also the profoundly feminist independence of these women completing the risky trek and all that it entails. The third central idea is environmental consciousness, as evidenced by their refurbishing of the older boat, their choice of foods they bring and, most prominently, their commitment to tracking, cataloging, and picking up plastic pollution when able. Their interest in how plastic travels across the world via boats and currents is the gist of their odyssey, and as the end of the film states, in their thirty days of sailing, they saw plastic every single day.
Another major achievement of Women & the Wind is how it draws connections between humans and nature by way of their vessel. We get to watch every aspect of their tour from the sunny skies to the days-long storms, from the noises of the boat as they learn what each one means to the crescendo of waves crashing that keeps them awake, to sickness as one of them develops Covid-19 and another long-term seasickness. There’s a true authenticity in choosing to show the raw, brutal moments as much as the breathtaking beauty of the water and sea life during the voyage. Five stars, would recommend.
Which public library patrons will benefit from seeing this documentary?
Women & the Wind would make an excellent addition to a DVD library collection or to stream as part of library programming, particularly for Earth Day and Women's History Month. Sailors and non-sailors alike will find much to admire in the grit of this trio and their journey, with its themes of nautical exploration, survivalist, human vs nature, and environmental conservation awareness. If the film inspires patrons to take up sailing or find a renewed interest in the health of oceans and beaches, the purpose of the film would be realized.
Which academic subject areas should use Women & the Wind as a resource for teaching with film?
This documentary is an excellent resource for both teachers and academic librarians. Its strong environmental conservation messaging would make for a great asset in an environmental sciences unit on plastics and pollution. The strong sense of friendship and dependence on each other also makes this a great film exploring relationships in a women’s studies course. That they sailed would also make the film a valuable supplement for an English class reading nautically-themed novels and comparing the time periods and innovations that make each crew’s circumstances similar and different.
Regardless of its use in a public or academic library setting, it’s worth nothing that there are frequent clips of (discreet) nudity throughout the film, albeit in a completely non-sexualized context. Librarians may wish to take this into consideration while considering viewership recommendations.
Enjoyed this review? Subscribe to Video Librarian today for access to over 40,000 pages of film resources tailored for librarians, educators, and non-theatrical audiences.