Movie Recommendation

So, I am blessed to have a multi-talented husband. One of the gifts of which I am particularly appreciative these days is his ability to select movies. He knows what I will like better than I do.

Last night, we saw a wonderful film called The Way. It was written and directed by Emilio Estevez and starred his dad, Martin Sheen. The plot revolved around the Way of St. James or El Camino de Santiago as it's called in Spanish.

Madeleine and I lived in Santiago de Compostela, the end point of the camino, from 1996-1997. I went to Mass in the cathedral weekly, sometimes more. I loved the statues of the pilgrims and the idea of the journey but never had any desire to do the camino myself. The film changed that. Don't get me wrong--I have no desire to sleep among thirty other smelly pilgrims in a hostel and showers would be a daily necessity on any walk of mine. Still, following the four main characters on their journey stirred a curiosity in me to know how I would respond. So I've added "walk the camino" to my bucket list.

For anyone interested, here is a brief review of the film. The author observes:

This is not an “inspirational film” in the usual, syrupy sense; none of these people are overtly finding God on this trek. The beauty of the movie, in fact, is that Mr. Estevez does not make explicit what any of them find, beyond friendship. He lets these four fine actors convey that true personal transformations are not announced with fanfare, but happen internally.

That last line summarizes why I loved the film. My experience of it was personal and internal rather than dictated.  Less was explained, more portrayed. I felt that Mr. Estevez was very respectful of his audience and its intelligence. Get ye to the theatre to see this one. You will not be sorry.

Happy Second Sunday of Advent!