Everyone in the film was a stereotype, or more accurately, an archetype.Then there was the Dutchman who just happened to be a stoner!
It is a privilege not to have to worry about stereotyping. There are countries where it can literally get you killed, where young black boys playing with toy guns are shot dead by the police, for example, because of stereotypes that black boys are dangerous. Given the marginalized status of the Roma in Europe, I don't think it is unreasonable or unwise to worry about the effects of this stereotyping on them and the treatment they face.
Isn‘t that an oversimplification? I know actually very little about this but from what I read the current situation isn’t uniform at all across Europe, there are huge differences between countries. This thread made me Google the name of the person from Burgos mentioned earlier in this thread and I learnt about a part of the town of Burgos called “El Encuentro” where 40 families live. That shocked me a bit, I didn’t expect to see this in Spain and certainly not in a town like Burgos. I don’t think it is typical, though.
So would I. I asked a bit to Korean pilgrims I have met, but I was never able to get an exact answer. More on my part I suppose.
LOL...I am hardly privileged, but of course all of us who have enough idle time to mindlessly chat away on some internet forum are certainly privileged to some degree.
This isn’t going to be well accepted I suspect. American cultural influence over the rest of the western world is riddled with the American point of view. Viewpoints such as the Korean, Euro or South American are not considered then rejected. They are generally unknown. They are like a foreign language even when translated.
).
It's the subtleties of the language and the associations you get when you are familiar with the words and the culture. I can give you an example from another popular book, Immortelle randonnée, Compostelle malgré moi. Both English and French are foreign languages for me. There is a passage in the book where the author describes a hierarchy of pilgrims. It has me in stitches each time I read it in French. The English translation doesn't even make me smile. It's not the fault of the translator, and my sense of humour is the same. And it's not about puns, either.
He did not say or mention the United States in his comment. He made no mention of any country. I would say your assumption it is the United States is an example of stereotyping. Without a doubt.
You are absolutely right about this negative stereotyping Kathharina, but in fact the film deliberately goes on to overturn this negative view by presenting the Gitano community in a very positive light.
It was based on news stories reported in a number of reputable sources. Not on my actual experience of being a black child shot dead, obviously. They are not in a position to tell their own stories but that doesn't diminish the reality of those stories. I was thinking of Tamir Rice, but Tyre King is another example and there are more. If you want to call New York Times articles "hearsay" go ahead. But the point of journalism is that we don't have to be omnipresent ourselves to learn what is happening in the world.
Thanks for having posted this Katharine. I finally got around to reading it, (in rather atrocious google translate), and as predicted I DID enjoy it. It was interesting to me that Martin Sheen's fame - at least to the writer and possibly to Spaniards in general - derives from the movie "Badlands" made almost 50 years ago, and which I have mentioned in a previous post.
No worries. It could have been worse
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No worries? Kather1na you have mastered Australian vernacular!No worries. It could have been worse
I was responding to what i thought was a general comment about privilege, race and the police. I gave an example from my country (although i have seen unfortunate examples of police brutality against minority people in other parts of the world, too.) Im sorry it came across as ethnocentric.
There is an Interesting foundation lodged in your opinion. It reminds me of how I had to overcome some black-and-white thinking while on my first pilgrimage on the Camino. Is it walking only? Does a person have to carry at least 10% of their weight the entire time? Should the newbie hordes stomping and chattering from Saria actually consider themselves a Pilgrim? Or, should an influential movie be insulted because it didn’t precisely portray the unportrayable? My experiences, although profound to me, can never be fully understood by anyone else, even by another pilgrim.
I think you've nailed it in one sentence, Djimbo.
But I have read an interview with Martin stating that he did have to mortgage his home as security for one of the loans.
Sorry SEB2, I missed your post at the time. (It prompted me to look up the filmography of Tcheky Karyo, who was vaguely familiar to me, and found that he played a major role in that lovely film "Belle and Sebastian".)Yes I do think that it would have been just as successful with an equally talented nobody. Tcheky Karyo - who played the role of Captain Henri - was a noted actor in France, but a nobody to audiences outside mainland Europe, yet in his brief appearance he managed to convey a deep humanity for a bereaved person that set the tone for what followed. Yorick van Wageningen was unknown to me - not so to Scandinavian audiences perhaps but imbued his role of empathetic clown with a degree of dignity. In the end, despite its weaknesses, especially that section of the script given to Deborah Kara Unger, it is a good story told simply, filmed in a beautiful setting and documenting a unique experience. That it begins with a bereavement surely is the hook, because that is a universal experience. The emotional grab from that is that this is a loss where mortality prevented a reconciliation in a fractured relationship - it is unfinished business and how many of us have walked the Camino because there was 'unfinished business' particularly in relation to loss. It has often been said that a text - be it book, film or piece of music is never complete until it has been read, watched or listened to. As others have said, it is what people bring to the watching of 'The Way' that makes it work. No stars or celebrities needed just an audience.
There were only four
I think Keith's view point was clear enough despite that minor mistake; there is no need to be pedantic about it.
Err... I sort of included the Emilio Estevez character (Daniel) - even though he was being carried in a small metal box all of the way. It was his Camino too
(although there may be some who regard him as 'cheating'). Its a nice film, get over it already.
Loved it...and it compelled me to go and seek out the Cathedral while in Barcelona last monthI have a similar experience. I read a book called Cathedral of the Sea. It was a translation into English from the original Spanish. It was set in Catalonia. Ildefonso Falcones.
I recently watched a Spanish production of the same title from Netflix. Original in Spanish overdubbed in English.
The main plot line was similar but a lot of history and culture was dropped for dramatic effect.
I recommend the book
Did the tour guide mention anything about the pirates buried there?
Yes, I do not know why some on here do that. It smacks of elitism IMO.
Hey, that looks like a pretty good travel guide for its time.
A fair comment Dave.
I loved the Lets's Go guides... I looked-up my old Let's Go: Europe from the early 80's and it mentioned the camino!
I love this post, Jim. Some resonance with my own first (but I hope, not last) Camino in 2018. Thank you for your thoughtful words.
And, I agree with you on that, all of it, JillGat.
More accurately:
I like that first sentence: it reflects my own attitude, although to be fair, not all Hollywood movies are like that, simply just too many of them.
I doubt that much of the growth is due to the movie. Certainly it raised the profile of the Caminos amongst pilgrims from the USA in particular and the remarkable increase in pilgrims from there after the movie seems strong evidence of that. But the Caminos have been growing in popularity very steadily since the mid 1980s and the movie barely caused a blip in the curve. Someone pointed out to me recently - and very fairly - that our perceptions here on the forum are skewed by being inside an 'anglophone bubble'. I doubt that "The Way" has had a serious impact in the increase of numbers of Spanish, Italian, German and other non-English-speaking nationalities.
Interestingly, @Rick of Rick and Peg just posted the interview you mention on another thread (Locations).
I picked up two copies of the DVD at a used book store several months apart so I would have a spare to loan. Both were $2 and one was new and in the wrapper still. They are easy to spot with the bright yellow package.
I understand why people find this scene odd. I must admit, though, that when I first watched the movie, I drank it in unquestioningly.
There is much truth in what you say about prejudice and discrimination of the Sinti and Roma populations in Europe. The stereotypes are negative (thieves etc etc) or romanticising (free nomadic life, no worries, music, singing etc etc).
Amen.
Thanks. I also found one of several articles reporting about the filming of "The Way" in Burgos. This one says:
It's not inconceivable to me that they would know. In one of those countries, I've had an area of social housing pointed out to me as the "dangerous" part of town where formerly nomadic people settled. I'm going to drop this topic here.
This. Absolutely this. The location team found a very quaint area and hung some washing to make it look poor - Perhaps they figured that poor people don't have dryers. But anyway, a location chosen for aesthetics rather than authenticity.
yes you got it , that is all it is about , take from it what you need , dont get to deep about it xx
Fascinating, and good fun. Especially because the English script is so familiar!
I remember reading that the Gypsy by-plot was suggested by friends of Emilio Est´ son & his new local Spanish family...
I recall hearing an interview with Emilio Estevez in which he said that he needed a means for the main character to go to his lowest point emotionally, deeply question his motives and why he was doing the Camino, and then rise out of that emotional darkness. The stolen backpack incident and gypsy by-plot was that vehicle. Having been there a couple times, the whole incident seems unlikely and does not mesh with the Camino experience I had.
...and the dubbed voices sound so weird, except for Capt Henri Sebastian! Maybe it is the real Tchéki Karyo. What a wonderfully versatile actor he is.Fun to watch. Though they speak so fast!!
I never thought of that. Just saw as typical poetic license of sort. Besides I just assumed nobody would have removed footwear and clothing from a corpse that had been in the elements outside and given them to a relative.
It looked awfully light to me when was it floating down the river.
It looked awfully light to me when was it floating down the river.
it's all pretend anyway, but I suppose the character of Tom could have easily gone to one of the outdoor equipment shoppes in SJPdP and purchased what could not be salvaged from the corpse of his son of from the bacpack. After all Tom got monster credit card power lol
