Movie Review-- Emilio Estevez's "The Way"

    It is a rare occurrence that my husband and I put our children to bed early and watch a movie together- just the two of us.  But, I had heard good things about Emilio Estevez's "The Way" which stars his father, Martin Sheen, as a lonely widower grieving the sudden unexpected death of his only child.  So as a special treat for ourselves, Tim and I ushered our children off to their respective rooms allowing them to read quietly to themselves while we popped the DVD in and settled on the couch for what we hoped would be an entertaining and inspiring Catholic movie like we had heard.

    As far as being an interesting story with believable and engaging characters, "The Way" did not disappoint.  Sheen, who portrayed Tom Avery, an American optometrist who embarks on an impromptu pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago traveling by foot through France and into Spain in honor of his recently deceased son, is a talented actor who did well in the role.  The movie follows him along the real way of Camino de Santiago as he meets new friends, scatters his son's ashes at places of special significance along the journey, and mourns his loss quietly all the while.  The fellow pilgrims he meets as he walks are varied and eccentric adding a little humor to an otherwise serious film.  Avery shares the experience of his pilgrimage with a fun-loving, outgoing, bear of a man from the Netherlands, a sarcastic, independent young woman from Canada, and a boisterous and somewhat arrogant writer from Ireland.  His new friends accept Avery despite his moodiness and emotional distance from them.

    Overall, "The Way" was a good movie, though not a great one.  It was entertaining and held our attention.  The scenery was beautiful, even breath-taking at times.  The message of living life to its fullest and learning to accept others where they are came through clearly.  However, though obviously main character Tom Avery was experiencing something meaningful and spiritual in his pilgrimage, the movie itself was not particularly spiritual in nature.  God was not a focus, nor was the depth, beauty, and tradition of Catholicism.  The teachings of the Church were not adhere to or even respected by the characters for the most part and the few moments of prayer and contemplation were somewhat glossed over.

    In short, I found "The Way" a film worth watching but I would not necessarily classify it as a Catholic film.  Instead, I would consider it a well done and thought-provoking mainstream movie with vaguely Christian themes and brief positive references to Catholicism.

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