Review of The Way (2010) by Jesse O — 19 May 2012

Vastly underrated movie. Let's get the negatives out of the way first though. I think the movie has a lot in the way of montages featuring popular music, there's really FAR too many of them. I don't know how many there were but there were far too many than was needed.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of them are good especially near the end of the movie. And I think the movie goes along at a VERY deliberate pace. I think it's going to test the patience of a LOT of people.

And while the movie is never bad (far from it) I think a lot of people will feel that not a lot is happening throughout the movie. And that is a valid point, but on the other hand if you do stick with this movie all the way through, this a great movie with a very touching and lovely story.

One of the great things about this movie is that, this is a movie about an 800 mile pilgrimage and the way the movie is put together does really make it seem like it a very exhaustive journey for all of these people involved and it must be very emotional for people who do complete this journey and the movie captures that emotion perfectly.

Another thing this movie does greatly is that it doesn't try to manipulate your feelings with cheap methods. For example every now and again Tom will see his deceased son on his journey. He'll see him when he's sitting at a table with the people he's met.

Or leaning against a post as he's walking. But it's never done in a melodramatic way, hell you might even miss it if you're not paying attention. It's just a nice little touch that adds a lot of emotional depth to Tom.

And the characters and the cast are all very likable. They have great chemistry together and it does feel like they grew as friends through this pilgrimage, which is something a lot of movies don't do well at all.

The scenery is also very beautiful. So all in all, an excellent movie. It might take you a while to get into it, but it's definitely worth seeing.