September 21, 2018
I watched "The Way," a movie starring Martin Sheen and directed by Emilio Estevez, when I first learned about the Camino de Santiago. Of course, when I first watched it I had no expectations about the Camino. But now that I have had my incredible 35-day, 618-mile hike on the Camino, I wanted to watch it again with a more critical eye as a peregrino.
And fortunately, “The Way” was playing so I watched it again. Yes, it’s a Hollywood movie, but it is still pretty good. You could see the characters change as they were experiencing their Camino, and I appreciated that. I have three criticisms of the movie. First, Martin Sheen's character should have failed. No one flies to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and uses someone's equipment to begin their hike. Second, Martin Sheen's character did not prepare for the Camino. One should not begin without some form of preparation and getting the right equipment. Third, every time they showed Martin Sheen's character walking he was walking at a very brisk pace and clearly did not have blisters. They should have showed him and the others fighting blisters, fatigue, soreness, etc. Nevertheless, I still like the move and recommend it. It was good.
And I am still grateful. I love the Camino. I miss the Camino. And I miss The Fellowship.