11-2-11 Movie Review: The Way

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The Way is a beautiful little movie about four people who, for reasons other than religion and that, for good reason, are other than clear, go on a month-long walking pilgrimage through the Pyrenees mountains of Spain and all gain from the experience things that are individual to each person and, again, not unrealistically clear. To me, their gradual acceptance of each other was enough to justify the movie; but you are welcome to look for more. Martin Sheen is overcoming the bitterness of the death of his semi-estranged son Emilio Estevez, his real-life son and the writer-director of the movie; but why he feels the need of the foot journey is up to you to decide; Debora Kara Unger claims she is trying to stop smoking, but obviously doesn’t care whether anybody believes her; Yorick Van Weneningen says he’s trying to lose weight; James Nesbitt is fighting writer’s block. As the miles and days go by, it becomes possible for them to be a little more open with each other, but the fact is, I’m not sure any of them really understand what they’re doing themselves. The beauty of the scenery, the picturesqueness and sometimes beauty of towns and buildings, the attractiveness of the people along the way suggest that the world is worth adapting to, if you give yourself and others a little slack.

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And that’s about all there is to The Way. But it’s more than enough, with the reality of the characters and the restraint from sentimentality and lack of rose-colored glasses to keep us attached to the real world. There are very few movies like The Way, and the ones there are are not big hits with the present movie audiences. It would be a shame to miss one when one does come around.