The Way

    Every once in a while you stumble upon a good movie that you just have to share. The Way is one of those movies. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an aging doctor who is comfortable in his structured and steady life. Suddenly Tom’s world is shattered with the death of his estranged son, Daniel. Daniel was embarking on the pilgrimage journey of El Camino de Santiago or the Way of St. James, which crosses through Spain. Tom travels oversees to collect his son’s body, but in a moment decides to walk the El Camino for Daniel.

     Written and directed by Emilio Estevez, who also portrays Daniel, The Way focuses on the different reasons that many travelers make the trek each year.  Estevez does a great job portraying the locals who are famous for their generosity to the pilgrims. The entire movie is filmed in Spain and France and the actual scene of the walk were filmed on the Camino. Instead of focusing on the physical hardships, Estevez places his focus on the personal growth of the characters. On his trek, Tom meets an array of characters, all walking the Camino for extremely different reasons. Together, these travelers must learn not only to get along, but accept each other as they are…flaws and all.  As Tom spreads Daniel’s ashes along the Camino, he learns that it is not about the life you choose, but the life you live. This inspirational story will have you wishing that you were walking the Camino, but you might want to do a little more research before you jump in as quickly as Tom did. 

The Homewood Public Library has The Way in both DVD and Blu-ray. Enjoy!