1. Exploring a road
2. ‘The Way’
The Father, ‘Tom’, a middle class Optomologist, Conservative and despairing at his wayward Son who has dropped out of College and good professional prospects to ‘Travel the World’. In the early part of the Movie we see him playing Golf with his ‘medical chums’ and makes the comment, “I’m old and tired”.
The Son, ‘Daniel’ has decided to walk the ‘Camino de Santiago’ known as ‘The way of St James’. It’s a popular pilgrimage for the religious and for the travelling ‘hippy’. At the outset of the walk, Daniel is killed in storm. Tom receives the news via phone from a French Policeman whilst he’s playing golf, (who later reveals to Tom that he too has lost a child). He immediately flies to France to identify the body and collect Daniels remains. In looking through Daniels possessions he decides to walk the Camino with Daniels ashes.
This is the first ten minutes of the movie and what follows is an albeit predictable journey of self-discovery and a Father’s re-connection with his Son. There are encounters of course with others walking the trail. Initially he is irritated by ‘the friendly dutchman’ who is walking the trail to loose weight because his wife won’t sleep with him anymore but of course spends most of his time eating and drinking and smoking weed. His other two subsequent walk-mates are a prickly Woman planning to give up smoking who we find out has been badly treated by her husband and a writer with Writer’s block who eventually documents Toms story.
Tom’s emotion comes to a head one day when he gets drunk and lashes out at his walk-mates who by this point have discovered Toms situation. Tom gets arrested and they bail him out. This becomes the turning point in their relationship which develops into one of warmth and commorardery.
Toms backpack is stolen by a Gipsy child who’s Father, discovering the act, makes him apologise and is harsh in his discipline. There is insight into that relationship between Father and Son. Eventually, Tom scatters Daniels ashes in the sea and in the final scenes of the movie, we see Tom has become a ‘traveller’.
This is a typical journey movie exploring the process of grief, the relationship between Father and Son and the process of self-exploration and discovery. Tom transforms from ‘old and tired’ to a state of resilience and understanding. He gains a new sense of pride for his Son and also perhaps a different perspective on life.
‘The road’ itself provides a backdrop, a mechanism for the story, beautiful scenery but mostly a metaphor for life’s journey. The Camino is a Catholic pilgrimage and whilst the Travellers ultimately have a spiritual experience when ending the trail at the great Cathedral at Compostllo, it becomes more about faith itself, faith in oneself and faith in the journey.
References and Bibliography
- Camino de Santiago. (2020). “The Way” a movie with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. [online] Available at: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/the-way-a-movie-with-martin-sheen-and-emilio-estevez/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2020].
Landscape, Place and Environment 