The Way (2010)

A father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the "El camino de Santiago," and decides to take the pilgrimage himself.

Director:

Emilio Estevez

Writers:

Emilio Estevez (written for the screen by), Jack Hitt (book)

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Deborah Kara Unger

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Sheen	...	Tom
Emilio Estevez	...	Daniel
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Sarah
Yorick van Wageningen	...	Joost
James Nesbitt	...	Jack
Romy Baskerville	...	Eunice
Renée Estevez	...	Doreen
David Alexanian	...	Roger
William Holden	...	Cal
Spencer Garrett	...	Phil
Joe Torrenueva	...	Father Sandoval
Tchéky Karyo	...	Captain Henri
Stéphane Dausse	...	French Mortician
Ángela Molina	...	Angelica (as Angela Molina)
Simón Andreu	...	Don Santiago

Storyline

"The Way" is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends and the challenges we face while navigating this ever-changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn't plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his "California Bubble Life". Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On his journey, Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own issues and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman (Yorick van Wageningen), a Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish writer (James Nesbitt), who is ...

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Plot Keywords:

journey | father | traveling | dead son | spiritual journey | 

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Taglines:

Life is too big to walk it alone.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

The characters Joost, Sarah and Jack represent the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz (1939). Each character has something in common with them. Jack is found near the stacks of hay and "hasn't had an original thought in days." Sarah, the Tin Man, has a broken heart and has been searching for love most of her life. She also has a lot of mechanical device (metal) such as an i-pod and cell phone. Joost is big like a lion but doesn't have the courage or the will power to stay healthy.

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Goofs

When they stay at the Parador, that is actually the Parador in Santiago. The next morning they are seen walking past a sign saying 'Santiago 222 kilometers'. This is not an error at all: The Parador shown is the one in León, at around 320km to Santiago. The sign "Santiago 222km" is at Manjarín, a few kilometres from the Cruz de Ferro, which they passed therefore 3 days after leaving León.

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Quotes

Tom: Have you ever walked the Camino, senora?
First albergue innkeeper: Never. When I was young, I was too busy. And now that I'm older, I'm too tired.
First albergue innkeeper: [as Tom silently nods and heads out the door] Buen camino.

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Soundtracks

New Slang
Written by James Mercer
Performed by The Shins
Courtesy of Sub Pop Records

User Reviews

My 393rd Review: Treads Lightly But Very Nicely...

This beautiful simple and involving film is one of the better films I've seen in the past couple of years. It does what the best of cinema can - it moves us, and reminds us that life is a journey full of chance encounters and that its not all serendipity, but we can walk on too.

Matin Sheen and his son, Emilio Estevez, make a winning team here - the direction, though straightforward is, like Ron Howard, filled with memorable scenes and images that linger. Sheen himself is always good at taking us with him - his half-amused, half-bemused style suits this perfectly. As he travels on the old pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela to deal with tragic loss he meets and forms a group with three other pilgrims.

All in all, the overall experience of watching this is simply pleasure - and like Danny Boyle's films, it seems simple but it is a complete experience. The Way is human, emotive, emotional, and sincere, and for this viewer a good journey.

Details

Country:

Spain USA

Language:

English Spanish French Catalan Italian

Release Date:

19 November 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Way

Filming Locations:

Marrakech, Morocco

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$110,418, 9 October 2011

Gross USA:

$4,430,765

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,348,704

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmax Entertainment, Icon Entertainment International, Elixir Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1