The Way (2010)

THE WAY  (2010)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Emilio Estevez
    Martin Sheen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt,
    Yorick van Wageningen, Emilio Estevez, Tchéky Karyo
A sort of updated Canterbury Tales, about four pilgrims who meet up on the Camino de Santiago and walk the trail together. They're all on some sort of personal quest, spiritual maybe, but none of them all that religious. Tom (Martin Sheen) is an ophthalmologist from California, mourning the death of his son. Joost (Yorick van Wageningen) is a convivial Dutchman hoping to lose a few pounds. Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger) is a chain-smoking Canadian trying to recover from an abusive relationship. Jack from Ireland (James Nesbitt) is a travel author with a severe case of writer's block. They all find something along the way, and it's not necessarily what they thought they were searching for. The movie's an obvious labor of love for Sheen and Estevez, centered on four believable characters who are sympathetic without being entirely likeable. You can see how they'd get on each other's nerves after a while, yet they always come through for each other when it counts. They're not your typical college-age backpackers. They've got a few miles on them, and life has taken a toll. But they haven't stopped living yet, either, or they wouldn't out there walking the trail. In no time at all, they're a family - that happens when you're out on the road - and in the time it takes them to reach the end of their journey, they wouldn't want to be with anybody else. For the time it takes to watch the movie, neither would you.