The Way (2011)

One of my all time favorites.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

'The Way' has plenty of appeal and the story behind it is a moving one, but it does feel like a missed opportunity. While anybody who enjoys road trip style films will probably get some pleasure out of 'The Way', it's only engaging for so long and unfortunately doesn't have the depth of plot required for a 2 hour long film.It's around the halfway point when the film really starts to run low on ideas. It becomes repetitive and dull, and in its desperation it resorts to some very unconvincing and poorly written situations. Most notably, the scene where the characters get drunk and start trading insults, which felt totally unnatural and didn't match the atmosphere of the film.

Released in 2010, "The Way" stars Martin Sheen as a grieving father who decides to hike Camino de Santiago (aka the Way of St. James), a popular 500-mile trail in northern Spain. There he teams-up with three other solo hikers (Yorick van Wageningen, Deborah Kara Unger & James Nesbitt). Can he work through his grim grief and find inspiration? The movie was produced, directed and written by Estevez based on the book by Jack Hitt. He even plays the star's son in a relatively small role. While there's a lot of good in this movie, like the excellent locations, cast, music, cinematography and message, it's palpably flawed by some weak writing and the corresponding unconvincing social situations. Several scenes needed the kinks worked out, but I'm not blaming the actors. I'm sure they did the best they could with the script they had.A top example of what I'm talking about is when our curmudgeonly protagonist has some kind of drunken meltdown, awkwardly blowing up at his new friends. Sequences like this needed further work, but I'm guessing that Estevez didn't have the funds because fixing & reshooting scenes costs money (the proverbial "time is money"). So, as an unseasoned director, he shot them and said "That's good enough," thinking he could make the movie work in the editing room. It didn't. But there's still some worthwhile material here.Check out 2015's "A Walk in the Woods" with Robert Redford & Nick Nolte for an excellent take on similar terrain.The movie runs 121 minutes and was shot on the actual trail in Spain.GRADE: C-

This is a movie that should touch the heart of each person watching it. As a parent, husband, and friend it reminds me of the journey we are all on in our lives, and how it is never too late to experience a rebirth of ones own soul. I offer this advice, don't watch this like you are watching a normal movie. Watch it with an open heart and an open mind. You might learn something about yourself. I know it sounds silly, but I walk away from this movie more determined then ever to be a better man, man, and citizen. Truly a touching movie.I watched it alone, and for some reason I think you might get the most of it this way. Unless you want to look like crybaby in front of your significant other.

Thomas Avery (Martin Sheen) is an American ophthalmologist. His nomadic only-child Daniel (Emilio Estevez) is killed walking the Catholic pilgrimage trail Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. In flashbacks, Thomas refuses to go with Daniel and berates him for his roaming nature. Thomas decides to carry Daniel's ashes and finish the trail for both him and himself. He encounters several hikers along the way.There is no high drama here. There is a little bit of humor but overwhelmingly, this is a personal journey movie. It is touching and compelling. One call feel Martin Sheen truly invested in this movie. Emilio is the director. He puts in a few too many montages. Deborah Kara Unger is terrific. It's a nice movie overall.