Now if you want to see a “youngster” really go on a spiritual journey, forget the anesthetic-induced, unquestioning feel-good haze of “Heaven is for Real.” You should watch Maidentrip instead.
This documentary follows 14-year-old Laura Dekker’s attempts to sail around the world in a sailboat by herself, and even though opinions about Dekker will vary wildly, it’s hard not to feel captivated by her journey and weigh in one way or the other. [Almost all of the footage was shot by Dekker herself, and the danger she faces is very real.] Some reviewers think she’s a delusionally entitled narcissist with a clueless disregard for her own safety, but I think she’s about as inspirational a role model as a young girl can have in 2014. So maybe you wouldn’t want your own young teen to quit school and go off on an adventure that could very well get her killed, but Dekker’s independent spirit is the real deal in a time when too many “young” “girls” pay lip service to feminist values but haven’t yet left their parent’s house at the…”ripening” age of 30. Grade: A-