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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Spain USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

19 November 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

El camino

Filming Locations:

Marrakech, Morocco

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$193,552 (Spain), 19 November 2010, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$110,418, 9 October 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,430,650, 11 March 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,158,000, 31 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmax Entertainment,Icon Entertainment International,Elixir Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On Tom's blue backpack the number "65" is stitched on the top right side. 1965 was the year Charlie Sheen, the son of Martin Sheen and the brother of Emilio Estevez, was born.

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Goofs

Shortly after Tom's release from the police station in Logroño, they stop for a drink of water from a fountain at the side of a bar called El Castaño. That is in the village of Tosantos, about 70 km from Logroño. About a minute later, they pass a yellow arrow under a stone cross. This is off the Camino Francés at Briñas, north of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A couple of minutes later, they pass the same stone cross.

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Quotes

Sarah: Well, Jack, maybe a dog fight near a cheese farm is simply a dog fight near a cheese farm.
Jack: [Excitedly] AH! Okay... That's good. That... is very... good! Maybe I should adopt a more conservative attitude instead of trying to tickle meaning out of every curve in the road. Oh, Christ... I haven't had an original thought in months! Writer's block...

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Soundtracks

Nadal de Luintra
Written by J. Enrique Comesana Pedreira, Isaac Palacin Losada, Xaquin Lopez Farina, Anxo L. Garcia Pintos, Guillermo M. Fernández García and Santiago Cribeiro Galego
Performed by Berrogüetto
Courtesy of Boa Music, Spain

User Reviews

wonderful film

went to see this last night at 11.10pm, but cinema forgot to start the film, so it was 5 to midnight before we got going - with a little prompting.

It makes me want to do el camino. Very touching. I cried twice and laughed, and towards the end was sitting with a huge grin on my face. The warmth between the characters was good, honest, authentic.

It's also like having plans to do one thing, but you end up doing something quite different, that just grows. I could feel a loosening at the end of it, where feelings had shifted for people, there was a release for the characters that had happened in a very real way. Nothing grated, it was very gentle, but built up to a wave that carried me with it.

Scenery is beautiful of course. An interesting bit with the gypsies in Spain that I found challenging. It brought me up as I believed the same stuff they assumed - I'd heard it so much: and it is interesting when I realised that what I've accepted as truth may just be prejudice. We all like a scapegoat to absolve ourselves, and to feel superior to other folks.

Well done everyone involved with this. I think I will be buying a few copies of this to hand out.

It makes me want to go, but it kind of makes me want to go alone to see who I meet on the way.