Review of The Way (2010) by Ana B — 08 Mar 2012

When Daniel Avery passes away on his first day of pilgrimage on the âCamino de Santiagoâ�, his father, a settled down American ophthalmologist in his 60â(TM)s, has to travel to France to recover the body. In a sort of rushed decision he decides to take up the task himself and walk the 800 km to Santiago of Compostela. On his way Tom slowly scatters Danielâ(TM)s ashes while trying to come to terms with the death of his only son. Tom befriends three other individuals that become his travel companions and his pillars of strength, an author with writerâ(TM)s block, an overweight Dutch and a Canadian chain smoker. Three peculiar people with particular reasons to walk the âCaminoâ� or âThe Wayâ�

This is not only a road movie, it is also a story of self-discovery and, to certain extent of redemption. There are a few bits that I find really interesting purely for travelling purposes, we get to see an insight into the people that takes up the âCaminoâ�, the inns and taverns, the culture of the locals that work with the pilgrims, the reasons why they decided to make the journey. I also like the sort of âindie movieâ� atmosphere, a bit low key, no explosions, fights or car chases, just a human story, people dealing with sorrow, loss and failure. The bit that is less cool and a little hollywoody is the kind of easy and sentimental answer they find. I believe there are some artificious scenes like the encounter with the gypsies which doesnâ(TM)t actually ring true. But I do appreciate Emilio Estevez trying to be introspective, deep and sincere. I guess thatâ(TM)s why he chose his father, Martin Sheen, to play Tom in the film. Either that or it was the family discount.