The Camino in the Media

That’s the Camino in Santiago?!?! I thought that movie was about the Sistine Chapel!

The Pride and the Passion with Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Sophia Loren

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This “1957 American Napoleonic-era film in Technicolor” can be watched in full length on YouTube. I had a quick look, with sound muted and at double speed, and saw that the first scenes show indeed the Praza do Obradoiro and the fronts of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and the Parador hotel. Are there more shots like this later on in the movie?

It is perhaps a bit of a stretch to call this movie an example of the “Camino in the media”. The Spanish Wikipedia entry says that the movie’s locations include Valdemoro, Pinto, Segovia, El Escorial, Ávila, el puerto del Pico, Oropesa, Torrelaguna, Arbo and Santiago de Compostela.

Vacajoe said:

That’s the Camino in Santiago?!?! I thought that movie was about the Sistine Chapel!

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That was "The Agony and the Ecstasy" you're thinking of.

The Camino de Santiago plays a central role in the recent film, The Way, written and directed by Emilio Estevez (Repo Man), and starring his father, Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, The West Wing). The Way depicts an estranged father, who travels to France to pick up his son’s body, after the son’s untimely demise on the first stage of his pilgrimage. Not fully understanding his reasons, the father decides to journey along the Camino, using his son’s hiking gear. Other pilgrims intrude on his journey, which begins as a grim, morbid undertaking to better know his estranged son. Later in the film, the father’s travels evolve into a pilgrimage. We see each pilgrim’s individual journey and their collective experiences, and how each affects the other. The Camino brings the father closer spiritually to his son and returns him to his faith, and away from a life of comfort and country clubs.

The Way was recently shown at my local church, where Mr. Sheen is a longtime parishioner. He talked afterwards about how filming The Way changed his and the cast’s lives, and how they bonded over the course of the filming. The experience was a labor of love by family, and they enjoyed the experience so much that they are producing The Way II. The film partly inspired me to undertake my own Camino.

Bert45 said:

That was "The Agony and the Ecstasy" you're thinking of.

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Correct! Phew, now I know I’m not forgetful, just confused! Thanks