Row of Life

SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW! Rowing solo and unassisted across the Pacific Ocean, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is a nightmare to someone inexperienced like me, but to Angela Madsen, it’s a dream. The documentary Row of Life, directed by Santa Barbara native Soraya Simi, tells the tale of the arduous journey while letting us into Madsen’s extraordinary world.

Angela Madsen, at sixty years of age, has lived more than many of us. From the lows of being homeless across from Disneyland (complete with the irony of the “happiest place on earth” being a stone’s throw away) and becoming a paraplegic, to the highs of marrying the love of her life Deb, to being a three-time Paralympian, Marine Corps veteran, and breaking fourteen Guinness World Records, rowing is what brings her peace. 

People who are driven to accomplish amazing feats, like Angela, do not rest when they have a goal in mind. As Deb says in the film, there was no way that she could’ve stopped her. “It can be absolutely terrifying, but being afraid isn’t an excuse to fail. I don’t want to be defeated by this or by anything,” said Madsen. That’s the heart of a champion because fear is what stops so many of us from following our dreams. 

“…Rowing solo and unassisted across the Pacific Ocean at 60 years of age…”

Angela Madsen’s journey across the Pacific Ocean is intense, as one would expect. She faces unexpected extreme weather conditions while cutting her own hand calluses off to be able to keep on going. As a culture, we praise athletes who are tough, but this is a whole different level. She talks about the common misconception of people thinking that people who row across the ocean take a break at night to eat and sleep on a bigger boat, but it’s all solo on one little boat, in Madsen’s case the aptly named Row of Life. 

So why go through all of the pain? The peacefulness, beauty, and freedom of the ocean. Angela explains it all in a fantastic sunset scene of her rowing near the end of the film, and she says that “No two minutes out here are alike, from the cloud formations to the wind, to the smell of the ocean, to the marine life and the birds, it’s always changing.” It all makes sense when you listen to her. 

That same beauty permeates through Row of Life in Angela’s marriage to Deb, where the love and care between the couple is on full display. They’re apart for months on end during Angela’s record attempts, but Deb knows who she married, so they make it work with communication via texts, phone calls, comical notes, and surprise care packages. 

So, does Angela make it across the Pacific to break the record for the oldest woman to ever row it solo? You’ll just have to watch the movie to find out. Soraya Simi does an amazing job of capturing it all, with gorgeous cinematography to boot. Angela Madsen’s life and journey are full of inspiration, love, and greatness while overcoming extreme challenges. Next time a sports team is considering a statue for an athlete, they should make one for a true hero like Angela. 

Row of Life screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.