[The footnote has a spoiler as to a supporting character, though nothing that will ruin the film for you or anything.]
This film is probably the best work he done though and it is an impressive piece of work. He has a lot helping him, of course, from his father (best known for West Wing, his acting chops go way back), a killer setting, powerful themes and an excellent supporting cast. Deborah Kara Unger is perhaps the best of the three pilgrims "Tom" here hooks up with,* but all are very good as are a few people met along the way, including a priest/cancer survivor and sympathetic police officer. Good use - of all things - an Alanis Morissette song - and a comfortable pace.
Either way, though it might be a bit too long, overall an impressive film, the sort of "independent" film that one imagines that thing would entail. One last thing I would say is that the film felt shall we say "adult." These all were characters at least approaching middle age (the son was "almost 40" when he died) and was dealing with things related to that. The film had a maturity that would impress certain viewers. Surely, so does other films with younger actors, a few films about teens quite mature too.
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* The character starts off as a fairly angry sort and we learn that it was earned -- she had a bad marriage and when she found out that she was pregnant, had an abortion because she didn't want a child to come into the situation. She was sad about it though, thinking of what might have been. This is not novel. It also doesn't mean she made the wrong choice or that she shouldn't have had the choice to make.
Many understand this fact and it's appreciated, but it is sad that so many do not. I heard this morning about how each Republican candidate for President was "pro-life," but so is Kerry -- he's a Catholic, and apparently follows that as his personal faith. The issue, however, and these hypocrites claim to defend it in other contexts, is if the state should prevent people from following their own path there.
Anyway, one thing I have voiced is my annoyance that abortion is not addressed more in popular fiction, and I thought the incident was handled well here. It was like many abortions -- a complex situation. She wasn't raped. She wasn't a teenager. She wasn't sick. It was a lousy situation, but she could have left him, etc. Still, on the whole, she chose like some choose in cases others might not to have a child. This is real life.
"The Way" takes place on the Camino de Santiago, a thousand-year-old pilgrimage route across France and Spain. [Martin] Sheen's character, Tom, is a doctor living a comfortable life in California who decides to make the trek after his son is killed in a freak storm while on the pilgrimage.The Way is written/directed by Emilio Estevez (his son), who has a small role as the son of the leading character, and it is an impressive effort. Estevez is probably best known The Breakfast Club and other like roles, but he has directed before, his film about Bobby Kennedy perhaps the best known. Still, mixed bag, and I didn't take him as a quality director or anything. I saw parts of the BK film and it looked decent though. I don't believe I saw any other works by him (well, maybe, Men At Work, but didn't impress much), including various t.v. dramas he directed. An aside there, television provides options for many to try directing (or producing and perhaps writing) out some.
This film is probably the best work he done though and it is an impressive piece of work. He has a lot helping him, of course, from his father (best known for West Wing, his acting chops go way back), a killer setting, powerful themes and an excellent supporting cast. Deborah Kara Unger is perhaps the best of the three pilgrims "Tom" here hooks up with,* but all are very good as are a few people met along the way, including a priest/cancer survivor and sympathetic police officer. Good use - of all things - an Alanis Morissette song - and a comfortable pace.
Sheen chimes in: "Unfortunately, so often, religions, vis-à-vis dogma, separate us. But spirituality unites us in our common humanity, and that is, I think, the major theme of the movie."NPR article/interview. As I have noted in the past, "religion" is one of those things that interests me, including how the term is used. At one point, someone notes an important event he spoke about is not about "religion" at all, after Sheen's character notes he isn't a very religious person. Me, I think it must be in context -- the sacred moment and the meaning given to it is eminently religious, but the quote (see also, the article cited in the opening) is telling all the same. The word has a certain implication, particularly an "institutional" one.
Either way, though it might be a bit too long, overall an impressive film, the sort of "independent" film that one imagines that thing would entail. One last thing I would say is that the film felt shall we say "adult." These all were characters at least approaching middle age (the son was "almost 40" when he died) and was dealing with things related to that. The film had a maturity that would impress certain viewers. Surely, so does other films with younger actors, a few films about teens quite mature too.
---
* The character starts off as a fairly angry sort and we learn that it was earned -- she had a bad marriage and when she found out that she was pregnant, had an abortion because she didn't want a child to come into the situation. She was sad about it though, thinking of what might have been. This is not novel. It also doesn't mean she made the wrong choice or that she shouldn't have had the choice to make.
Many understand this fact and it's appreciated, but it is sad that so many do not. I heard this morning about how each Republican candidate for President was "pro-life," but so is Kerry -- he's a Catholic, and apparently follows that as his personal faith. The issue, however, and these hypocrites claim to defend it in other contexts, is if the state should prevent people from following their own path there.
Anyway, one thing I have voiced is my annoyance that abortion is not addressed more in popular fiction, and I thought the incident was handled well here. It was like many abortions -- a complex situation. She wasn't raped. She wasn't a teenager. She wasn't sick. It was a lousy situation, but she could have left him, etc. Still, on the whole, she chose like some choose in cases others might not to have a child. This is real life.