The Way - Movie Review

In 2010, Emilio Estevez released a new drama starring his father, Martin Sheen, in the lead role. Estevez also makes appearances in his film, The Way. The Way reminds me somewhat of a similarly titled film from earlier that year called The Way Back. Both films feature a diverse band of characters embarking on an arduous trek. While both films feature a healthy dose of endless walking, The Way was a far more balanced film.

Tom Avery (Sheen) is a California Opthamologist whose adult son, Daniel (Estevez) is on a journey of self discovery in Europe. Tom and Daniel have different outlooks on life. Tom cannot understand why Daniel dropped out of school to wander aimlessly around Europe. While Tom settles for the life he has chosen, Daniel wants to live life. It is this quest that leads Daniel to travel the Camino De Santiago (The Way of Saint James). Tom's own journey begins when he is notified by police from St. Jean Pied de Port, France, that his son was killed while hiking through the Pyrenees.

While Tom contemplates his son's death, the police Captain (Tcheky Karyo) explains the pilgrimage Camino De Santiago. Inspired by his son's unfinished journey, Tom decides to undertake the pilgrimage himself. Along his journey, he meets a motley cast of characters. His first encounter pairs him with Joost of Amsterdam (Yorick van Wageningen), a talkative food-addict. The next character to join him on his journey is an angry Canadian, Sara (Deborah Kara Unger), a nicotine-addict who feels compelled to delve into Tom's personal business. The final character in the entourage is an Irish writer, Jack (James Nesbitt), who has undertaken this journey to cure his writer's block. Along the journey, the characters slowly open up to each other, offering an opportunity for companionship, laughter and shared inspiration.

In addition to The Way Back, this film calls to mind an older film, The Wizard of Oz. The difference being the internal as opposed to external struggle. Tom begins his journey alone (with his son's remains), meeting a new character on each leg of his journey. Each of the characters have a back story, which gradually evolves, allowing each character to learn something about themselves that they didn't know. It is a journey of self-discovery, after all. And wasn't that really the gist of Oz? The parallel worked because it never felt forced. While the film did have a Hallmark simplicity to it, I enjoyed the rich characters and felt that the emotional qualities of the film were artistically rendered. While predictable, the journey was a worthy trip. Estevez did a solid job with this screenplay, creating a worthwhile character-driven story. I felt a little bit short-changed by the characters in the end, but overall, it worked for me.

Estevez also takes a mostly silent role in this film, appearing as the deceased son along the The Way. There wasn't much to judge in his performance. Martin Sheen was strong as the lead character, lending his steady hand to a conflicted character for credibility. I enjoyed van Wageningen and Nesbitt more than Unger, who didn't seem to be a perfect fit for her role. She wasn't bad, it just didn't work for me. The cast also consisted of actual pilgrims making the journey. I also enjoyed Antonio Gil as Ishmael, a Gypsy from Burgos who meets the pilgrims under less than favorable circumstances. The rest of the gypsy family were actual Burgos Gypsies. The inclusion of extras from the actual Camino de Santiago added flavor to the film.

The Way was filmed on a very small budget. The production quality was actually decent considering the financial restrictions this movie dealt with. There were a few scenes where the film looked a bit washed out, probably do to lighting issues. Traveling with a crew of less than fifty people and likely an equally scant equipment stockpile, seemingly prevented this film from achieving perfect visual clarity. The quality didn't affect the inspirational message of the film and was refreshing in the sense that it didn't try too hard to be a big budget Hollywood film. It appears that they did an excellent job with the restrictions they had to contend with.

I enjoyed The Way enough for a recommendation. It wasn't completely original, it didn't have a lot of action, it lacked high production quality, and the pacing was sluggish for stretches at a time. However, the strong character studies, inspirational message and delicate handling of dramatic material enhanced my enjoyment of the film. While it was somewhat predictable, I still felt rewarded when the credits rolled. The rich scenery of the Spanish landscape was an added bonus. 7.5/10.

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