The Way - 3 1/2 smiles

In an interview, Emilio Estevez, writer, director and producer of “The Way,” explained that the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of Saint James, is a mountainous metaphor for the road we walk every day searching for what is beneath our feet and already in our packs. It emphasizes the need for community, the fact that we need each other. And the resulting story, a collaboration between Estevez and his father, Martin Sheen, focuses on Tom (Sheen) as he is called to the Spanish-French border town of St. Jean Pied de Port to collect the remains of his adult son, Daniel (Estevez, played mainly in flashback). Daniel died in a storm in the Pyrenees on his first day of hiking the historic Camino de Santiago. Once there, Tom decides to walk the Camino and scatter Daniel’s ashes at various points along the way. As he walks, he meets Joost (Yorick van Wageningen), a Dutch pilgrim walking to lose weight, Canadian Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), promising to give up smoking at the end of her trek, and Jack (James Nesbitt), an Irish travel magazine writer hoping to find ideas for a book. Each pilgrim has to overcome personal demons and by the time they reach their destination, they discover the profound impact they’ve had on each other and Tom’s life is transformed.

For centuries, pilgrims have walked from St. Jean Pied de Port 800 km to Santiago de Compostela, where the relics of Saint James are kept in a cathedral. People walk alone or in groups, seeking health, forgiveness, miracles, or any number of other answers. Although Estevez embraces the spiritual and religious elements of his story, he’s just as interested in the journey as the destination. The actors find something genuine in their characters and Sheen gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as Tom, a conservative doctor who has never approved of the wandering lifestyle his son advocated. Furthermore, the mountains and farm country, the dusty, sun-burnished hills, the sleepy villages and grand old cathedrals provide a beautiful backdrop for “The Way,” a story about self-discovery. 10/16/11