The first time I heard the title of this movie, I thought it might have something to do with St. Josemaria Escriva's famous book of points, The Way. It isn't. Instead, The Way is about a father trekking through the Pyrenees mountains following El Camino de Santiago (the way of St. James) in an effort to deal with the death of his adult son who was taking the way as a pilgrimage.
The movie has gotten a lot of coverage in the Catholic media. In fact, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, Sheen's son and director of the film, have even appeared on EWTN. The film is not overtly Catholic even though it deals with what is essentially a Catholic pilgrimage. I would describe the film as being about relationships, especially those between fathers and sons. It's a movie about getting too caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day life and not stopping to live life. My favorite line in the movie (and included on some of the movie posters) occurs during a flashback, Daniel, the son played by Estevez, says to Tom, Sheen's character, "You don't choose a life, Dad. You live it."
The film made me laugh and it made me tear up a few times. In this sense, it reminded me of Field of Dreams. If you get this then you know what I mean. If you don't, I won't be able to adequately put it into words. The cinematography is superb as Estevez captures the beauty of the French and Spanish region covered on the pilgrimage.
The acting is solid all around. There is some brief partial nudity when a French peregrino (pilgrim) is changing his clothes. There is also some subtle drug use by a few of the characters, but mainly to demonstrate the challenges facing one of the travelers who joins Tom on the way. Some might be put off by the spreading of the son's ashes along the way because this is contrary to the Catholic Church's teaching on the treatment of remains of one who has died. I don't think the film is attempting to make a statement about this. Instead, I think it's the use of literary license to add sentiment to the film. Additionally, we are reminded throughout that Tom is not a practicing Catholic; he doesn't know any better.
The Way is currently available to stream for free on Netflix and to rent on iTunes and Amazon. You can also rent the DVD at Walmart.
For a more detailed and professional review, I recommend Steven D. Greydanus' review at Decent Films.
I saw it and frankly I wondered why it received so much publicity from Catholic media. I thought it was boring and except for the scene when they make it to the church, that is the only "Catholic" I saw in it.
ReplyDeleteI saw it last night and I really enjoyed it. Wish my knees could handle that walk.
ReplyDeleteLupe