Drama, written and directed by actor Emilio Estevez, about a group of people walking The Camino – a Christian pilgrimage route to Galicia, Spain. Stars Estevez's dad, Martin Sheen (The Departed).
Tom (Sheen) is an American doctor who trips to France following the death of his adult son (Estevez) who died during a storm while walking to the Cathedral of Santiage de Compostela in Spain – a pilgrimage known as The Camino or The Way of St. James. Travelling to retrieve the body, Tom decides to take the same route as his son to deal with his grief. On the way, he meets and travels with others from around the world.
Emilio Estevez’s career as a writer-director has yet to bloom into something worth noticing, with his previous film Bobby getting a general “yeah… nah…” response. Teaming up with his father Martin Sheen, Estevez seems to have found some stable ground with this road movie, effectively showing how a simple journey, more specifically the El Camino de Santiago, can open the way to inner enlightenment.
Sheen’s performance is superbly subdued, bringing real depth to a character that was maybe a tad underwritten. Along the way, he runs into a number of side characters ranging from interesting to annoyingly ostentatious. We warm to them eventually, largely thanks to the interaction between one another.
A big drawback is the film’s lack of conflict. Any quarrel between the travellers hardly ever goes beyond a mild irritation while Sheen’s character, Tom, is so closed up for most of the walk that we barely get to witness his inner turmoil. The one scene where he does rip into his companions provides some remedy for this.
The film is also a little longer than it needs to be, suffering from some noticeable pacing dips in the middle. Despite this, The Way is a serene experience that prefers to take you by the hand rather than drag you by the foot.
By Liam Maguren, Flicks.co.nz
Love beautiful honeyed landscapes, sunsets, gentle, intimate movies? I know hubbie would hate this film which couldn't be further away from an action thriller, but for me it felt like I was the silent companion in the group doing this pilgrimage. Most of the film just happened and there was enough time to observe, collect and and feel just what was being depicted. It felt like a personal experince for me as well as the travellers. I loved that Martin Sheen and his real life son played father and son and this magical bond between parent and child was subtly echoed in many ways throughout the film - to the extent that I started to feel sorry for my childless friend sitting next to me in the theatre. The Way really was a journey in every sense of the word.
Saw it with my dad who's 80 and as a parent of 2 boys this was an emotional family experience. Emilio and his dad obviously work well together so this would so be worth seeing again
This is a road movie with a difference - it covers the 800 kilometre pilgrims' walk from southern France through the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compastela (The Camino Walk). This is a great film with some interesting background things going on. It is a father/son story and the star of the movie (Martin Sheen) is the father in real life of the son in the movie who, incidentally, is also the writer and producer (Emilio Estevez). Father and son are estranged and when son dies on the first day of this walk, his father decides to complete it and scatter his ashes along the way. The film is rounded off with some great characters who Sheen meets along the way and becomes a story of developing camaraderie -- a modern Canterbury Tales. Well worth watching. 4 stars from us.
Essentially, The Way starts out as "Eat Pray Love" and takes a long, surprising trip toward becoming David Lynch's "The Straight Story." And that's a longer trip than a mere monthlong trek across Spain.
It's a sweet and sincere family pilgrimage, even if a little too long and obvious. Audiences seeking uplift will find it here.
Gentle, likable and profoundly touching, it makes you want to dig out the hiking boots and make the same journey.
There's a contemplative loveliness to The Way, an affecting personal project both for Emilio Estevez, who wrote, directed, and plays a small role, and for his father, Martin Sheen.
An earnest film, its heart always in the right place, but it's severely under dramatized.
