Back on May 15, 2010, Jessica Watson returned to the land after spending 210 days on her own on a small boat, only 33 feet long. She had traveled more than 22,000 nautical miles; it was a triumph. Anyone would be overwhelmed and scared by an undertaking like that, and yet she did that at only 16 years old. Of course, she did not just get up and leave to do such a thing. She spent years preparing and falling on her preparations. She did not give up, which is an impressive thing on its own, considering the struggles she encountered.
She wrote a memoir talking about her adventures and triumphs. The book’s title is True Spirit: The Aussie Girl Who Took The World, and it is the source material for the upcoming Netflix movie True Spirit. It is inspiring to watch this young woman from Australia become the youngest person to travel around the world without a single stop for the first time ever. Good stories are a good foundation for good movies. Here's everything we know about the movie so far.
True Spirit: The Plot
In the movie, we follow 16-year-old Jessica Watson. She has a dream. She wants to travel around the world with her small boat. How supportive can her family be of this plan? And, even if she manages to convince them to give her their trust, are the authorities supposed to stand by and let a teenager put herself in such danger and potentially die? Also, when Jessica eventually succeeds to go out to the sea, is she going to survive? The sea has taken many people, many ships and boats filled with experienced sailors, how is she going to be better than all of them? All these questions will be answered in Netflix’s True Spirit.
The synopsis gives a better look at what audiences can expect.
“When the tenacious young sailor Jessica Watson sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the world, many expect her to fail. With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben Bryant (Cliff Curtis) and her parents (Josh Lawson and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin), Jessica is determined to accomplish what was thought to be impossible, navigating some of the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean over the course of 210 days.”
True Spirit: The Cast & Crew
The part of Jessica Watson, the girl with the crazy dream is played by Australian actress Teagan Croft, whom we previously saw in DC’s Titans where she had the role of Rachel Roth/Raven, among some other parts of her rich enough career for her young age. The part of Jessica Watson is also played by Alyla Brown in her younger years.
Academy Award Winner Anna Paquin, known for her role as Rogue in the X-Men movies, and Josh Dawson, whom we enjoyed thoroughly in his role as Kano in 2021’s Mortal Kombat, are playing the parts of Jessica’s parents, Julie and Roger Watson. Bridget Webb has the part of their other daughter Emily Watson, and their son Tom Watson is played by Stacy Clausen. Other members of the cast include Todd Lasance, Cliff Curtis, Alice Tate, Joyey Vieira, Molly Belle Wright, Shanyn Asman, Liam Wallace, Freya Callaghan, and Tim Aplleton.
The movie is directed by Sarah Spillane, her body of work includes many short films, yet her talent is undeniable. She also wrote the film, alongside Cathy Randall, another writer/director who work before in projects like Return to Nim’s Island and Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueburger. The movie is produced by Debra Martin Chase, Susan Cartsonis, and Andrew Fraser.
Release Date
The movie is set to release for streaming exclusively on Netflix on February 3.
Everything Else We Know
We love stories about human perseverance and winning against all odds, True Spirit seems to be that. There is a small feeling of doubt inside us considering this movie though. The film is based on a book chronicling a true story, so, of course, there is going to be some romanticization and distortion of the truth.
We know that Jessica managed her dream and survived her challenges. How can we feel the danger of the situation when we know that everything turned out okay? Of course, this is a silly doubt. All movies are predictable, based on true events or not. What really matters is how the filmmakers are handling their materials. True Spirit seems to have all the important elements to be an excellent movie, and we can not wait to see it. We have marked our calendars, and if you like sailing adventures, stories of survival, and young people taking a chance, so should you.