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The Way - the film

Finisterre

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Sarria 2001,
Porto 2006,
Valenca 2008,
Finisterre 2010,
SJdPP 2012,
Tui 2014.

No plans to return, yet.
I went to see The Way last night with a couple of friends and I loved it.

The interiors took me back to hostels I knew and loved ((mainly because I was no longer walking and could lie down). Nothing jarred for me, they felt just right.

The landscape was great, redolent of Spain. I don't think we got enough of it. I don't think I could ever get enough of it.

The characters were believable, complete with 'issues' and other annoyances. They were the mixed bag I have met in real walking and amused and touched me all over again. Their own personal journeys were there to see and interpret. Even the Nesbitt character was spot on although some reviewers thought him intrusive, some pilgrims are intrusive, I thought it was fair.

I slipped into believing what was presented, it all struck exactly the right chord. The religiosity was nicely muted, the slight crossness of tired people was there without being overt. Altogether I thought it reflected my Camino experiences pretty accurately. I may be back for another bite of the plata route after watching it, it certainly didn't put me off.

I heard the lady behind me say as we left the picture house that she had been in tears five times during the showing. I too thought it was moving (if not to tears), the critics have it right if they judged as at 7/10 as a general release. As a pilgrim I would have to give it another point because I know how true to life much of it was.

Apart from them walking in jeans, has anyone ever walked it in jeans?


I am really interested to hear how other people found the film.



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I decided to start a new topic because the other thread gets bogged down in screening times and aggressive posts about pirate dvds being evil etc.
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€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I came to The Way from another angle.

I was in Glasgow, had a couple of hours to kill and the only film on at that exact time was The Way. I like Martin Sheen & Emelio Estevez, so in I went.

I thought it was a great film. It's a buddy movie/rites of passage/comedy/weepie movie. I'd never heard of the Camino, but it has reaaly captured my imagination. I WILL do the Camino in the next 5 years.

I'll buy the DVD when it's out.
Cheery
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Achahoish - I hope you enjoy your camino - thanks for your reply -

I am quite pleased to hear that someone who hasn't camino-ed saw it and approved. I thought maybe I was enjoying it because it was a bit like looking at your own holiday snaps / wedding video. And everybody else is glazing over. :)
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I watched the movie at a cinema back in February and I bought the DVD in Santiago in April having just finished the CP.

I have shown the movie now to 6 people who have not walked the Camino before but have plenty of knowledge of it, having visited Santiago on numerous occasions and\or seen videos and photos and heard tales from my Caminos over the last 5 years.

Whilst they enjoyed my take on it all they had also seen the after effects of the walking and maybe just thought of it as a physical challenge. Although (imho) the film has some flaws, it does get across the beauty of Northern Spain and more importantly shows that the challenge is a mental as well as a physical one and also the opportunities for solitude, contemplation, comaradery and a "back to basics" life in whatever quantities you wish to choose. On the whole it is a great movie and obviously did a much better job than I did of getting across the whole story of the Camino, as 4 of those viewers are now inspired to walk one of the routes in the next year or so.

Mig
 
I can't wait to see this film :) I think like many other pilgrims I am constantly thinking of the long walk....

as far as jeans go I had brought a pair of shorts, leggings, and jeans with me to do the walk...and walked a large portion of time in my jeans in July-August.
 
While visiting London last weekend daughter number 2 and her boyfriend treated me to a showing of the film,she lived to regret it,it was spoiled for her she said by my constant commentary,been there done that,they walked the wrong way out of sjpp,I nearly shouted at the screen waving them to turn back,I loved the midnight dope smoking scene outside the alburgue in Roncesvalles, but couldn't help pointing out that doors were locked at 10pm and this could not have happened,also a nice landscape scene at O Cebreiro looking back down into the valley and then singing the road to Santiago they start back down the hill :shock: I didn't point this out to my daughter as she had stopped speaking to me at this point so pointing out that the 4 main actors wore the same clothes the whole way,no blisters,no injuries no pain and not one drop of sweat were lost to her,if she walks the Camino she will think the days consists of great 4minute soundtracks as they skip along the way (the whole walk from Santiago to Muxia glossed over in 3mins).I will never know as she tells me the one thing she will leave behind in England when she walks is me!!
Ian
 
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Haha Ian! Great post!

You remind me of my Portuguese grandfather who used to yell and throw things at the (black and white) television screen during cowboy movies!

Or my ex's grandmother Dicey who believed that American Wresting was the real thing! I've never seen another 85 pounds of 85 year old womanhood bounce up and down, shake a fist, and yell obscenities since she left us. I wonder if there's wrestling in heaven?
 
i will try to persuade family and friends NOT to watch the move
.
the ponces in the movie behaved like they were shooting the prequell to Mary Poppins Men in Tights
.
if Estevez even thinks of part 2 on the vdlp, i will personally apply ancient chinese torture involving a vice-grip and family jewels
.
let that be a warning
i know people in low places
 
Annie,
My grandmother used to do the same thing with the TV wrestling! Her shouts would wake us at night when she was watching/participating. Was this some sort of granny subculture?
Suzanne
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Ian & Annie...you've got me worried about bringing my family to see it!! I may just opt to duct tape my mouth shut...and just drink thru a straw.

One small note, Ian, ummm Alburgues can be broken into. I know. I did. In Melide. Another pilg and I got caught out at the neighboring Alburgue using the internet. A look of horror between us as we realize the computer clocks read 22:04! Grabbing nano's, camera memory cards, etc, we scrambled out the door and raced up the municipal alburgue. The door was locked. Rang the bell. No answer. Knocked...no answer. SO....round the corner where we discovered the drying yard...and Joy of JOYS!..Pilgs sitting in the "dinning" room.

Now the really great part...trying to get the drunk Frenchman to open the window! He kept saying the doors were locked (quick on the uptake he was!) Finally after about two minutes he realized the window not only tipped out...but swung open too! Only problem with climbing IN was I was laughing too hard to use my arms properly...and needed a boot up...which the lovely German gentleman gave me.

No sooner are we in to room but the Frenchman jumps out the window...as he realized he could now check on his laundry. Fun watching him trying to get back in now!! I ran off to bed before I could fall over laughing..

So....that scene...not impossible if you really want in...or out...or whatever!
 
Do you possibly look Chinese after 10 pm...and are you SURE you weren't out drinking wine, instead of using the computer... and having said THAT, could you have possibly been at Boadilla del Camino??????

No.. WAIT! That was another thread! :wink:

Suzanne, a subculture it must be!
That was the funniest thing I'd ever seen in my life.
And buddy, if you told her it was not REAL, those were FIGHTIN' words! :p
 
I was fortunate to receive a copy of the film recently. It has not been released in the US yet. I found it endearing, but as Annie stated, there was no mention of blisters or sore feet. If not for my sore, blistery feet, I would say the entire experience of walking from SJPD to SDC was absolutely incredible!! Did you notice that Martin Sheen's character always had perfect hair and nice clothes? As for jeans, well I walked with a fellow from LA for about three days, who wore jeans his entire journey! Ugh! I don't know how he did it? I did enjoy watching my friend burn his jeans at Finnesterre though. The film did a good job of capturing the personal relationships that develop along the Caminio. I met some "strange" folks, but nothing like "Senor Ramon" and I never slept outside. I also was fortunate to have never been a victim of theft, in fact, it wasn't even in my head that such a thing could happen. Who wants an old, stinky pack anyway? I had a friend watch it, who did not walk the Camino. She felt it was long, kept waiting to get to the end. She said, "When are they going to get to Santiago?" lol... I told her, "The joy, my friend, is in the journey."
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Saw the film a month ago, shortly before returning to the Camino. I enjoyed it, felt it gave a good idea of the way and the landscape, alberques etc. and even the wonderful camaraderie that develops between pilgrims from very different backgrounds, but somehow I could not get into the plot. Found it hard to be objective about it and wondered all the time how it would appear to someone who knew nothing about the Camino. I was too involved in wondering what part they would show next to really get into the spirit. Maybe this is the price of being a "Camino addict". (My husband, on the other hand, another Camino veteran, got completely involved in the storyline and enjoyed it.)
Someone should have told Martin Sheen not to walk so fast. He kept taking off at a rate of knots that I found hard to credit for a "mature" and presumably untrained pilgrim with a full backpack!
Anna
 

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