'The Way' DVD Review: Estevez, Sheen Embark on Emotional, Exhausting Journey
When “The Way” begins, we meet Tom (Martin Sheen), a lapsed Catholic, who has to fly overseas to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his deceased son Daniel (writer/director Emilio Estevez and Sheen’s real-life son) and take them back to America. Daniel was killed in a storm in the Pyrenees while walking the Camino de Santiago on the first day of his journey.
The film’s title refers to the Camino de Santiago, a centuries-old pathway to the supposed burial of Saint James the apostle in northwestern Spain. The Camino, also known as “The Way,” is 800 kilometers long (or 500 miles) and is frequently walked by people from all over the world.
Instead of returning home, Tom has a spark of inspiration and decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage in honor of his son. On his journey he meets several people who tag along with him. One is a loud-mouthed Dutchman named Joost (Yorick van Wageningen) who decided to take on the trail to lose weight. A while later, Tom meets Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), an angry Canadian who wants to forget about her past life.
He manically jumped up like a phantom before striking the Dutchman and mocking him about his miss. Besides having an eye for goal, this fiery Italian always wore his heart on his sleeve wherever he went. His passion boiled over while playing for Lazio