The Way stars Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez and was written, directed, and co-produced by Emilio Estevez. Sheen plays Tom, a California optometrist who travels to France to collect his estranged son’s remains played by Estevez who died crossing the Pyrenees Mountains while walking the Camino de Santiago from France to Spain. Tom decides impulsively to continue his son’s journey and walk the nearly 800-kilometre pilgrimage to Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage that for more than 1000 years millions of other people from around the world have done.
So begins a soulful and spiritual journey as Tom spreads his son's ashes along the length of the camino and while doing so, forms a loose family of fellow misfit pilgrims; Canadian native Deborah Kara Unger, as a divorced Canadian woman, James Nesbitt as an Irish author and Yorick van Wageningen, as a goofy Dutch pothead. Along the way, we learn more about each of these troubled characters, as they stumble their way to the final destination of Santiago. Nevertheless, Martin Sheen’s character Tom carries the movie as he discovers more about himself and the son he had lost and then finds again.
The Camino de Santiago serves a perfect backdrop and guide with the rugged mountains of the Basque country, the beautiful wide-open barren plains of the Meseta, spectacular cities of Burgos, Leon and Santiago, and misty hills of Galicia.
Some camino junkies might be critical of the film on how it glosses over the other elements of the Camino, such as blisters, sore feet and tired muscles. However, as a two-time veteran of the Camino; first walked it in 2007, and more recently in 2011, and as a veteran of the Via Francigena in Italy, I can say that the movie provides an honest account of what a modern day pilgrimage is all about. Eventually, we learn that there is no right or wrong way; that that journey just as in life, is as important as the destination. We do not choose our lives but we should prepare to live them.
You might describe the Way as a modern day Wizard of Oz tale of discovery. It proceeds along at a pedestrian pace with gentle twists and turns as this motley crew of four transverses northern Spain in search of redemption and salvation. You will not find action packed cinematography filled with violence and high tech wizardry. Instead, the movie portrays that time-honored importance of good storytelling that seems to be so lacking in most Hollywood style movies.
The Way is a simple story of a grieving father coming to terms with the loss of his only son - a father who ultimately honors his son’s wishes by walking the Camino de Santiago on his behalf. It is a film for all ages and I highly recommend you see it.
The movie The Way opened up in Toronto November 4th and will open in other major cities in Canada November 11th.
Update: The Way opens November 11 at the following theatres:
Ottawa - Bytowne Ottawa
Halifax - Empire Theatre Bayers Lake
Winnipeg - Globe Landmark Cinema
Calgary - Globe Calgary
Vancouver - Cineplex Odeon International Village and Empire Esplanade
Victoria - Odeon Cineplex
It is still showing at the Cineplex Odeon Varsity (+VIP), Grande Sheppard, AMC Winston Churchill and Kennedy Commons all located in or just outside of Toronto
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