Apr
27
Movie Review: The Way
Filed Under EN
Like most road trips, Emilio Estevez’ The Way is a journey best taken with an open mind. When I read the premise of former Brat Pack member Estevez’ film about a man who travels the famous ancient Christian pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, to honour his dead son, I feared I would be verbally bludgeoned with messages of salvation and a sermon delivered from the silver screen.
Thousands of pilgrims each year hike the famous 800km passageway to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in north-west Spain where they believe the remains of the Apostle, St James, are buried, most in search of religious enlightenment.
Thankfully, you don’t need to be of any particular religious persuasion to enjoy The Way, with Estevez choosing to focus on the personal dimension of spirituality rather than big divisive issues.
The Way is not, as one observer put it, a hymn to religion, more a sentimental tale of self-discovery and catharsis.
The tone is set from the moment we meet American divorcee Tom (Martin Sheen) taking a call on the golf course telling him that his son, Daniel (Estevez) has been killed in a hiking accident in Spain.
It’s a tragedy made all the more sorrowful by the fact the pair have become estranged following Daniel’s decision to drop out of graduate school to travel the world, much to the disapproval of Tom, an ophthalmologist content with his comfortable life in Los Angeles who can’t understand his son’s wandering lifestyle.
“You don’t choose a life, Dad, you live one,” Daniel tries to explain to his father en route to the airport with what turn out to be his parting words.
Days later, Daniel is dead and Tom finds himself dusting off his own passport to travel to Spain for the gut-wrenching task of identifying his son.
At first he plans only to collect Daniel’s belongings and take his body home. However, after studying his son’s journals and the photos on his camera he does something totally out of character. He makes the decision to cremate his son’s body and walk what is known as The Way of St James himself, scattering Daniel’s ashes at key points along the journey.
Etched in grief, Tom cuts a lonely and vulnerable figure as he sets out on the trail with his dead son’s backpack and a canister containing his ashes.
He inadvertently finds some travelling companions in the form of portly Dutchman Joost (Yorick van Wageningen), Canadian drifter Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger) and Irish writer Jack (James Nesbitt).
Against all odds, the group go from strangers to friends along the trail.
The Way is Estevez’ first writing-directing venture since the poorly received Bobby but it’s hard to imagine this offering polarising the audience too much thanks to its beautiful scenery, contemporary story and, most importantly, the grounding performance of Sheen.
Estevez’ father in real life is formidable as he expresses the gamut of emotions felt by one whose grief is still so raw.
The supporting cast, too, with their own back stories – Sarah is haunted by a painful history of spousal abuse, Jack is suffering a severe bout of writer’s block and Joost just can’t say no to food – bring equal measures of humour and tragedy to the mix.
Like lapsed Catholic Tom, each has issues with God but, along the trail, they help renew each other’s spirituality and by the time they reach the awe-inspiring Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, they have made some progress on their individual journeys.
The Way is not overly sentimental – nor does it mock religion – but it does plod at times.
Ultimately though, it is a film that not only makes you want to lace up your hiking boots and jump on the next flight to Spain but also reminds us that the journey is often more important than the destination.
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