"The Way" stars Martin Sheen as Tom, a father who travels to France after learning that his estranged only son died there (played by real-life son Emilio Estevez). Once in France, Tom learns that his son died in an accident while on his first day of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. Tom decides to make the pilgrimage in honor of his son and sprinkle his ashes along the path. While making the trip, Tom meets other pilgrims making the trip for their own reasons and somewhat reluctantly falls in with three others who journey with him.
This is a simply beautiful film as the landscape along the journey is amazing. I thought Sheen was great in the main role but I feel that his partnership with his real-life son gave the film such a personal feel. Throughout the film the audience sees this journey not only in the physical sense but also an emotional one for Tom as he moves through his grief over his son. At first he is reluctant to talk to anyone and he moves from being very secretive about his real reason for doing the journey to anger and later to a spirit of reverence and a respect for his dead son. Overall just a quality film that is subtle but powerful - A.
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