Posts tagged Sarah
“The Way” a Beautiful Film
0October 23, 2011
“Beautiful Film on Different Levels”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Martin Sheen in The Way
The Way is one of those rare films that you will remember for a long time to come, because it can affect a wide range of audiences in many different ways.
The film stars Martin Sheen as Tom Avery, and it was written and directed by Emilio Estevez, Sheen’s son, who also plays Tom’s son, Daniel, in flashbacks.
The title refers to the Camino de Santiago, the route of a centuries-old religious pilgrimage that begins in southern France, crosses the Pyrenees Mountains, and ends at the Cathedral de Santiago in Compostela, Spain.
Tom is a widower and an ophthalmologist in California, and one day he receives a phone call from France, and a man asks, “Are you the father of Daniel Avery?”
Tom learns that Daniel was going to walk the Camino de Santiago, but he was tragically killed in a sudden storm on the very first day of his journey.
So, Tom goes to France to retrieve Daniel’s body, and we learn that Tom and Daniel weren’t close ever since his mother died, he was Tom’s only child, and he wanted to see the world.
While he is in France, Tom learns more about the Camino de Santiago, and so he decides to have Daniel’s body cremated and, using Daniel’s backpack, tak
e the ashes with him while he walks the pilgrimage himself, which will take months to omplete.
We are told that the pilgrimage is a very personal journey, but shortly after he begins, Tom encounters three other people with whom he will spend most of the journey: Joost from Holland, Sarah from Canada, and Jack from Ireland, all with different reasons for wanting to make the pilgrimage.
Also, along the route, other interesting people are encountered, some making the pilgrimage themselves and others in the villages through which they pass, including some who own and run the inns where pilgrims can spend the night.
Needless to say, Tom has interesting experiences along the way, some touching, some pleasant, and some not so pleasant.
Although Tom walks and acts as if he wants to complete the journey in as short a time as possible, events occur that slow him down and allow him to appreciate the trip and to come to a better understanding of his son Daniel.
The Way is a beautiful film on many different levels.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
