The Way, My Way

I went to see this movie because I have done many similar long distance walks, and I wanted to relive some of that experience, and to some extent I got that from watching this.

The movie is fairly enjoyable, with great scenery, but spends a lot of the running time getting to and through the first few days of walking, and then leaps ahead, missing out on some of the walking days, and at one point even seemed to have (I think it was) two day 26s. I would have liked to see the scenery for each and every day, but for other viewers that might have slowed down the pace (although the pace of this movie is purposely slow anyway).

Also, the movie is not entirely a good representation of this kind of activity - to meet 3 or 4 strangers on your first day, to take a day off due to injury, then to walk with a sore knee at a very slow pace, and then arrive 30 days and ~800km later at the end on the same day as all of those original walkers is unrealistic - I've only ever ended a multi-day walk once with anyone I met when I started it. Another thing that usually occurs over this length of trail is the amount of weight loss and fitness gain that occurs, neither of which seemed to happen to Bill.

There is very little story, other than Bill trying to find a reason for doing this walk, and the little encounters he has along the way. A reason is finally given, but I can't say I understood it myself - that line uttered by his wife at the end of the movie was merely a repeat of what she said earlier.

Other commenters say too much of the movie time was focused on Bill's character, but that part is realistic - that is what it is like when you are walking a trail alone - you spend most of the time on your own, with only yourself for company, looking at the scenery, and letting your mind wander.

I'm not sure this needed the full theatre experience, although those vistas do look magnificent at times, but as a lover of long distance hiking, this movie did nothing to make me want to undertake this trail - there are many others out there that take priority.

The beginning of the movie really made me feel it wasn't a good movie so I didn't want to watch but I actually held on to it. And it turned out to be a brilliant movie. Blimey, it's an underrated movie. So Bill wants to walk almost 800kms to Camino. What is his journey like? He gets to know different people from different countries, he gets to know why people choose to walk 800 kms to Camino. They sometimes live under the same roof, drinking together , getting to know each other, and exchanging ideas or life experiences. It's also a journey of cultural refreshments. In addition to this, for Bill and other walkers, the journey strengthens their mental and physical conditions, and helps them overcome different challenges/difficulties. That's sth that a journey is all about. Getting to your destination is not the point, enjoying what your journey has to offer, you don't give up easily, is the point. For Bill, he has seen a lot of places, he has met a lot of different "pilgrims", he enjoys the journey, but most importantly, it's a path to his own redemption.

I had seen this advertised for a while on Netflix and kept thinking this was not for me at all.

However once watching I discovered how much in common I had with the main character Bill, even though he is 30 years older than me. Flawed, stubborn and yet trying to find some purpose on his journey. I like when characters are not perfect. Because who really is?

I laughed several times out loud and I really enjoyed the scenery and learning a little about a trek I knew nothing about. It's a great advert for the region if nothing else.

Granted, this is not for everyone. But I loved the down to earth, simple and believable aspects of it.

Having read the above reviews, it seems most reviewers don't have a clue what the movie is about. I don't know what they were expecting but for me it summed up the camino experience almost exactly.

The journey of self-discovery, the casual conversations with strangers that often reveal things one would not dream about talking about to anyone back home, the on again/off again nature of the friendships that are formed, the often hard physical and mental stress and at the end, that while it has certainly helped you to know yourself better, it has not resulted in any 'Road to Damascus' like revelations.

I was particularly impressed by the fact that many of the characters played themselves, they were not actors but the actual people the main character met on his camino and agreed to appear in the movie. ( for those who don't know the movie is based on the book of the same name about the author/ filmmakers own experiences on the camino)

I thought it was excellent and I certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the camino, or who just wants to see a good film about the human condition.

I wanted to watch this film because my teenage son was thinking of doing a gap year and maybe walking the Camino?

To start with I did not even realise it was an Australian film and was impressed that it was (while still having a great international flavour).

I watched the film again because I liked it. The cinematography is spectacular and the scenery is beautiful. I am so impressed that most of the "actors" were the the real people who walked the track and did not even speak English as a first language!

The film tackles serious issues too such as dealing with grief, guilt, forgiveness, suicide, marital conflict and childhood sexual assault in a way that allows people to speak for themselves.