The Way

On and off screen, this film was a father and son adventure. Off screen Emilio Estevez starred, directed, produced and wrote the story for the screen. His father Martin Sheen starred in the film and under his birth name, Ramon Gerard Estevez, was one of the executive producers. More importantly, let's get to the on screen adventure...

Following the death of his son, Tom (Martin Sheen) travels to France to collect the ashes of his son, Daniel (Emilio Estevez), who has died during bad weather on the first day of his pilgrimage on the El Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James).

Driven by his grief he decides to walk the Way, an 800km route from France to Santiago, known as the French Way. He takes his son's backpack and guidebook and sets off on his way. We follow Tom through some wonderful scenery and architecture, and he meets some colourful characters on the way, all who on the face of it may seem superficial. We find that they're all looking for greater meaning in their lives, they're all looking to come to terms with things that have happened to them in their past.

For me, the film took a while to really get going. But as soon as it did I really enjoyed it. Martin Sheen is a great actor with a great range of roles spanning his 50 year career and I fully believed his portrayal of a father who goes from not understanding the route his son has taken in life, to not only understanding, but choosing the same route.

If you get the chance, watch this film. It's not a life changer, but a lovely film that'll be worth revisiting, probably giving a different perspective each time.