Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Way: My Review

"You don't choose a life Dad, you live one" ~ The Way


I finally watched the movie "The Way" by Emilio Estevez and starring his real life father and fellow actor, Martin Sheen.  The movie is about Tom (Martin Sheen), an American Doctor, who decides to walk the El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), which is what his estranged son, Daniel (Emilio Estevez), was doing before he died.  Daniel was on the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Northwestern Spain when he was caught in bad weather. 

His father decides to do the pilgrimage and finish what his son started.  During his walk, he meets up with three unlikely companions and the four of them embark on this amazing road to self discovery.

This movie is perfect for any traveler to watch because there are so many similarities in the experiences and self discoveries that we all make when we travel to see the world.  There are so many different lessons to learn in this movie and they are conveyed with such emotion, human drama, spirituality, and humor.  

- The relationships (past, present and new) that we have and/or make in life are so important.  For as many solo trips as I have done since 2005, there is not a single one which I have done completely by myself.   I have had the help from my family, friends, co-workers and my blogging and travel friends.  The journey we take in life cannot be done alone.  We need each other and for many of us we need faith.

- It's about the choices that we make in life.  Not only do we have to do whatever it is that makes us happy, we also have to be happy with who we are.  

- It's about self discovery. Life is always changing and it's never too late to take another path in order to be happy. I love the transformation of the main character toward the end of the movie.   

- And lastly, I would love to visit this part of Spain! :)

"One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things." ~ Henry Miller.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review; I'd like to see this movie. I read Shirley Maclaine's book about when she walked the Camino and it was fascinating.

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    1. Hi Annie, you're very welcome. Wow Shirley Maclaine did the pilgrimage. That is so cool. I wonder if someone could do this pilgrimage at different times? It would be hard to take off a month. Guess one could do it when they are retired, then time would not be a problem.

      I hope you get to watch the movie. I think you will really enjoy it. I'm going to watch it again this weekend before I return it. :)

      Have a wonderful weekend.

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  2. Kathy - beautiful post, just beautiful. My heart filled reading your words, a moment of grace in my day.

    Also appreciated your review of this movie, it sounds very interesting and moving. I must have a look for it once my school term is over.

    Have a wonderful weekend, my friend!! :)

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    1. Hi Anne, thank you so much for liking my post. I'm glad that it gave you a moment of grace in your day. You know as I was writing my review I couldn't help but think of you and Sandra and how you are both also on a new journey in your lives. It's very inspiring. I hope when you get a break in school that you will have an opportunity to watch this movie. I think you would enjoy it.

      Have a wonderful weekend too, girl friend! :)

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  3. Hi K: I'm so glad you enjoyed this film. It was something on my list for so long that Ty and I were delighted when we found this movie playing on payperview. Not sure if you watched the ending to understand the background of this movie. The Sheen's grandfather actually lived near or on this trail. They heard about it growing up. The Sheens are no strangers to pilgrimages - they were both schooled in the Jesuit tradition.

    That's the background anyway. The movie was done on such a small budget and filmed mostly on the trail with the use of very few cameras. I think that's why it wasn't shown in more movie theatres.

    Thanks for posting this. It left an impact on me when I watched it. menehune

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  4. Hi M, thanks so much for your comments. I didn't know that his grandfather lived in Spain near the route. That's very cool. I heard that he dedicated this movie in memory of his grandfather too.

    Another cool thing I learned...I also watched in an interview that Emilio's Son who traveled and walked part of the route with Martin Sheen when he was in Europe filming a movie, met a girl who was the Inn Keeper's daughter at the B&B they stayed at in Burgos. They are still married to each other til this day. It's all so interesting how all these things come together and how Emilio wrote this story. I also heard that many of the pilgrims walking in the background in the movie are real hikers (rather than movie extras) who were doing the walk themselves, because they were on such limited budget.

    I didn't now that they were schooled in the Jesuit tradition. Interesting.

    Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the movie too. I found them interesting and learned some interesting background. I like this movie so much I may buy it for my DVD library. :)

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It's me Trekcapri (aka Kathy). Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.