Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen on THE WAY
“You can start alone, but you never end alone.” ~ Popular saying on the Camino De Santiago
THE WAY, a film written and directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father Martin Sheen, is the story of an unexpected gift a son hands off to his father, a gift that emerges out of the blue from the twists and turns of an impulsive but illuminating journey.
Similarly, the film’s production was marked by a close and deep father-and-son collaboration – one that took director Emilio Estevez and actor Martin Sheen on a passage together into the high mountains of France and Spain and through some of the richly human questions that draw them both: questions about love, about community and about what keeps us moving forward when the road starts getting tougher, stranger and seemingly more forbidding. In the process, they had a chance to explore not only the awe-inspiring land of their ancestors, but their shared fascination with the power of laughter, forgiveness and even vexing relationships to make the most arduous path feel meaningful.
Publisher’s Note: To really do this film justice and to see all the incredible pictures we do not have room to fully share here, please see this article in the OM Times October 2011 Full Multimedia Edition.
Exclusive interview with Jewels Johnson, Law of Attraction Radio Network loaradionetwork.com/jewels.html
Synopsis
“The Way” is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever-changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn’t plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his “California Bubble Life.”
Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On “The Way,” Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own issues and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman (Yorick van Wageningen), a Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish writer (James Nesbitt), who is suffering from a bout of writer’s block.
From the unexpected and, oftentimes, amusing experiences along “The Way,” this unlikely quartet of misfits creates an everlasting bond and Tom begins to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world again. Through Tom’s unresolved relationship with his son, he discovers the difference between “the life we live and the life we choose.”
Some thoughts from Emilio and Martin
Martin, on The Way
