I watched it last night on Amazon streaming. I really enjoyed it, enough to recommend it to my friends.
"You're a nearsighted, bitter old fool."
i saw the way about a week ago, and had a friend show me this thread.
i walked the camino about a year ago. and i also did the france route like martin sheen did in the movie. as for the correlation between the film and the trail. it was actually shot in spain. i visited a couple of bars and albergues, that have martin with the owners in photos. their is lot of hollywood in the film like the packs, most packs on the camino are around 20 pounds. anything over 25 pounds is a extremely heavy pack. Yes most people stay at albergues, which cost anywhere from donation to 7 euros. albergues are differnet then hostels,(keep in mind ive old stayed in hostels outside of the USA) everything is communial as they showed in the movie. and with the Catholicism domination in the spain religion is everywhere you look. keep in mind you can stay on grounds of cathedrals for free, it has something to due with the whole asylum thing(which some people did )
i think the movie, in respect to the camino, isnt about the hike itself, its about what happens when your out there, the experience you take away from it and the experience you leave with the people you shared the camino with.
the repeating message in the film is why are you hiking the camino de santiago? for some people like my self...... it took me till the end of the world to find that out.
As for the pilgrim thing, the camino de santiago has been around for over a thousand years, pilgrams from france and parts of spain would walk to hear the preaching of Santiago, and when he died(cant remember all the stories of his life and death, they range from him feeding people with clams, to when his body was returned to the city of Santiago there were clams on the boat....?????) anyways it was a religious inspired hike to pay homage to God. kinda like Muslims and mecca. the folks that hike the A.T. dont do it for religious reasons, there isnt any religous historical signifance, no one on the A.T. carries the symbol of a pilgrim on there pack or on there body. people on the A.T. are hikers, trekers, tramps, adventurist, survivalist, hobos on a mission.
and just for the record, there are rocks on the camino, just look up "la crux" ----lost of rocks
Originally Posted by Cottontp
i saw the way about a week ago, and had a friend show me this thread.
i walked the camino about a year ago. and i also did the france route like martin sheen did in the movie. as for the correlation between the film and the trail. it was actually shot in spain. i visited a couple of bars and albergues, that have martin with the owners in photos. their is lot of hollywood in the film like the packs, most packs on the camino are around 20 pounds. anything over 25 pounds is a extremely heavy pack. Yes most people stay at albergues, which cost anywhere from donation to 7 euros. albergues are differnet then hostels,(keep in mind ive old stayed in hostels outside of the USA) everything is communial as they showed in the movie. and with the Catholicism domination in the spain religion is everywhere you look. keep in mind you can stay on grounds of cathedrals for free, it has something to due with the whole asylum thing(which some people did )
i think the movie, in respect to the camino, isnt about the hike itself, its about what happens when your out there, the experience you take away from it and the experience you leave with the people you shared the camino with.
the repeating message in the film is why are you hiking the camino de santiago? for some people like my self...... it took me till the end of the world to find that out.
As for the pilgrim thing, the camino de santiago has been around for over a thousand years, pilgrams from france and parts of spain would walk to hear the preaching of Santiago, and when he died(cant remember all the stories of his life and death, they range from him feeding people with clams, to when his body was returned to the city of Santiago there were clams on the boat....?????) anyways it was a religious inspired hike to pay homage to God. kinda like Muslims and mecca. the folks that hike the A.T. dont do it for religious reasons, there isnt any religous historical signifance, no one on the A.T. carries the symbol of a pilgrim on there pack or on there body. people on the A.T. are hikers, trekers, tramps, adventurist, survivalist, hobos on a mission.
and just for the record, there are rocks on the camino, just look up "la crux" ----lost of rocks
So glad you posted this as I was getting a tad wound up with the 'oh, it's road walking and the AT is a better wilderness experience' when people have seemed to bypass what the Camino is about and what the film was trying to portray.
I've literally just returned from my short Camino on Friday and although I only covered 220kms, it was an amazing experience, a spiritual one and in only 8 days I have found people who have touched my life profoundly.
I shall be attempting an AT thru hike later this month and expect a different experience entirely. I will be hiking for very different reasons and the environment shall be drastically changed.
And as for the sarcastic comment about the stamps - they are a requirement of the Camino to allow you to stay in the albergues and so when you reach the end you can prove your journey to receive your Compostela, they aren't optional. And I am actually very glad I have my credencial and my shell to remember my trip by.
I would recommend the experience to anyone and to learn a little more about adventures beyond your door?
I found the movie to be trite and sentimental, to me honest. Once again, a movie that relies on sappy music to tantalize the emotions rather than good acting, cinematography or story-telling. It seems that I'm in the minority here, but I thought it was very poorly done with over-acting all over the movie. It came highly recommended to me, but the GF and I thought it was just terrible. Each hostel owner acting like there the first people to show up all day. LOL. After working on enough film projects, I see how they use cheap emotional manipulation with "tricks" rather than good film making. I'd rather see a movie made by anyone here at WB. I'm sure it'd be more interesting!
ESTRAGON: I can't go on like this.
VLADIMIR: That's what you think.
I watched and it made me want some red wine, good bread, and cheese!
Watched it this weekend with my wife. We both like it a lot. It's not really a hiking movie so much as a character study set on a hike. It definitely looked easier than the AT, but my wife said she would like to do it some day and she's never been that thrilled with the idea of an AT thru-hike. I've just decided that I'm going to have to do the AT solo with some company from her along the way.
The Way
I watched this movie the other day and liked it, although it wasn't exactly realistic. No one really hikes in jeans etc, as someone previously mentioned.
I watched the movie a couple of days ago and enjoyed it. I read a good book last year called Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino. It was about an American nun who hiked the camino with a friend who was a priest. It was similar to the movie in that it was mostly about what they learned from the experience. I really recommend the book.
I rented it from blockbuster express. $2. Its worth it.
I really enjoyed THE WAY. It wasn't anything spectacular, but that is why I enjoyed it. The story was plausible, although there were a few Hollywood stretches in it. My wife, Jane, and I saw it the night after we returned from walking the same route as the movie, The Camino Frances.
The Way is a very different experience from the AT, and I wouldn't even begin to compare them. The only similarities are walking a long distance with a backpack and being out in the elements. One does not need a tent, although we did carry a Hubba-Hubba and used it six times. Typically, one can stop at a café about every 5-10 km (which explains not losing much weight in many cases). It is not much road walking, as opposed to an earlier statement, it is routed very well on footpaths, dirt roads and mountain trails. Of course it is on roads in the villages, but there is almost no automobile traffic on those roads either.
Language is not a problem. Jane is fluent in Spanish and French and I know a little German, so we were relatively able to assimilate without too much difficulty. That said, the majority of the pilgrims (as opposed to hikers, and the "pilgrims" are really referred to as "peregrinos.") seem to speak English to varying degrees. I never found it a problem. If you have fears, carry some flash cards with important phrases, just in case. Of course there are a number of devices that will access Google Translate that one could carry too.
The movie does depict heavy traffic on the Camino, and there is. It isn't unusual to have 200,000 people walk it each year, whereas the AT might see 5-7000. I actually enjoyed the crowd, it gave plenty of opportunities to meet people from other cultures, and they were fantastic!
If interested, check out Skywalker's new book, THE BEST WAY. El Camino de Santiago (ISBN: 1467960225). He narrates his walk with his nephew on the Camino. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. He is a real character, and I'll have to watch what I say, he skulks around this forum as wellIt is also on Kindle.
Back to the movie: the night following our viewing the movie, we were invited to attend a local movie critics club to discuss THE WAY and our impression of the movie, having just returned two days before. It was interesting, the 30 people there were about evenly divided about the movie. The ones that didn't care for it mostly felt that way because they couldn't believe people could become so friendly so quickly. It was something that I had never really given much thought, since friendships form so quickly on the AT. Jane and I both pointed out that situation happened to us on the Camino as well. We made a ton of new friends and correspond with many of them now. At the end of the meeting, they asked for another poll on how the audience felt, and almost everyone that had given a thumbs down, had changed their mind. Funny.
The movie does a reasonable job of capturing the beauty of the Camino, but I think it could have done more. I'd argue that even though the Camino is only 500 miles, it has far more beauty per mile (km) than the AT. It was absolutely stunning! It was breathtaking from beginning to end. Don't get me wrong, I loved the AT, but the Camino is just constant eye-candy. I don't think the movie did a respectable job of capturing that.
In all, go see it, or get the DVD if you get a chance. As you watch it, try to actually picture yourself in some of the scenes. If you could only taste the wine and the food, that would clinch it!
Oh, Jane and I are both writing a book about the Camino. Her's is very different from mine, so were not competing. Mine is titled: A FEW MORE ZEROES, and her's is WOMEN OF THE WAY. More later on all that...
K1
I tried watching it again after reading this thread.
Again, I couldn't finish it.
I have it downloaded so, maybe eventually I can get to the end.
My problem with it is not the scenery or learning about the way. The scenery is usually awesome and I've travelled in all of those countries and do like the towns with their cobblestone streets and old stone houses etc.
My problem with the movie is the same as many AT hiking videos: They are full of unhappy people saying unhappy things.
I hike because I enjoy it.
So, when I make a hiking video, I show the best parts about hiking, not the whining, rainy, buggy, dirty, unhappy times.
Trying to make a journey look tough by showing unhappy people is a real turn off for me.
Maybe if I can get to the end, they'll turn and be happy. I have it downloaded.
I sure hope so.
If not, it just shows that the majority (according to this thread) actually prefer to see that side.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
Wow, I thought the opposite. And I too have worked on more than a few film projects. I thought it was all very professionally done with very believable acting and dialog. The cinematography was nothing award winning, but far from amateurish. I was glad this wasn't about the hike, but rather the people and their experience. At the same time, though, I found myself trying hard to identify all the gear they were carrying. And I found myself working out a mental gear list given that i'd spend each night in a hostel. I realized by the end of the movie that this "kind of hike" relied heavily on people and relationships (or the development of relationships) as well as the mental capability to handle the task.
C'est la vie
I really enjoyed this movie, I rented it from itunes, watched it twice in the time I had it available.
Yes, it's not a movie about a hike (trail)--it's a movie about people on a hike.
Congratulations to Emilio Estevez on bringing this to the screen. I'd rather watch this movie for the third time than some typical oh-look-special-effects movie churned out by Hollyweird.
-1 for "The Way." The music was cheesy and the film as a whole didnt leave me with a feeling of pilgrimage and change. Too 'Hollywood-esque.'
Martin Sheen seemed to be angry or perturbed by those around him. I felt as though he should have left the others he was hiking with and found his own 'way' - a way in which he could deal with the grief surrounding his son. The social aspect of the trail in the movie seemed unrealistic and inaccurate.
This past year on my SOBO hike, I carried the ashes of my sister who passed away not even a year before I started at Katahdin. For this reason I could relate to his experience. Even though I had been planning a thru hike for a few years, the grief which comes with her unexpected loss was the greatest obstacle on my thruhike. Unlike Martin Sheen, I found comfort in interaction with strangers and my hiking partners alike. They all helped revive a part of what I had lost when my sister passed - life and living. I feel as though "The Way" failed to capture this accurately like it was trying. I dont think they used the others on the trail to enhance his experience (and the film for that matter) at all.
NTM, there was a scene where he sat down at a table and everyone began talking English.If hes the only American, this wouldnt happen. Sorry Martin. Oh, and the scene where the American got too drunk and was hauled off. Go figure
**EDIT to above post - If he's the only ANGLOPHONE at the table, this wouldnt happen.
My wife and I watched it last night and really enjoyed it. Uncharacteristically, she wants to see it again. Tonight, we'll watch it again and those that don't like it can watch "Dancing with the Stars". Let us know who gets voted off...
I'm been 'holed' up here at the house recuperating from one of the nastiest colds I have ever had ! Just finished watching the movie and I thoroughtly enjoyed it. Would love to do this trail somewhere down the road. Absolutely beautiful scenery and I'm sure no shortage of 'characters'!
BTW ...The Way is now available on streaming Netflix..............
I was in Barcelona and the Costa Brava earlier this year and loved it. The food was remarkable- Paella!!! Saw the movie after researching the pilgrimage. Got John Brierley's Guide book which seemed sufficient.
I'd be interested hearing from veteran pilgrims talk about lessons learned, gear lists that worked, travel itineraries (open end return ticket ? $$$$!!!), and their daily routine including food re-supply (i.e., buy along the way, carry only snacks, wait to eat meals in towns, etc.), best guidebooks.....
Cheers!
"Fish Camp Woman.... Baby, I like the way you smell"
- Unknown Hinson
That was what I noticed! Overall, a good flick, though.
Quilteresq
2013, hopefully.
wATching for the first time tonight.
i'll post my rATing tonight/tomorrow.
-Jason
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