Les chemins de Compostelle

Greetings again from the darkness. There aren't many traditions that span more than 1200 years, and only one of those involves walking 500 miles … the Camino de Santiago. Its origin is as a religious trek to Santiago de Compostela where tradition holds that the magnificent cathedral contains the remains of St. James the Apostle. These days, the Camino is no longer limited to those with Christian beliefs, and in fact many modern day pilgrims take it on as a personal quest rather than a spiritual journey.

Director Lydia B Smith and her camera allow us to travel along with a group of (six) pilgrims, each with their own story, background and motivation. The journey involves both physical and emotional challenges, and results in varying degrees of self-awareness. One obvious difference in today's pilgrims versus those of medieval times is the experience is much more communal these days. Not only do the walkers eat and sleep in the same hostels along the route, they also freely share their emotions and thoughts with each other (and the camera). This contrasts greatly with the tradition of solitude and quiet introspection. Call it a lesson in generational differences.

The elements rotate between favorable and challenging. The pilgrims must face cold, hot, rain, and wind. These obstacles of nature are magnified with foot blisters, sore knees and other bodily ailments. However, for most of these people, the mental challenge is every bit as steep. For 6 plus hours each day over approximately 35 days, they focus on the incredible scenery as well as their own thoughts. It's impossible to hide from one's self, even though friendship … and even relationships … form along the path.

Each of those who complete the journey realizes it's not about the destination, but rather the inspiration and spiritual enlightenment – even if it wasn't their original goal. There is talk about the "internal Camino" and how you walk with your heart. Reflection on this spectacular path leads to harmony with nature and self. A lovely Spanish guitar accompanies our viewing pleasure, and it's impossible not to imagine ourselves on this journey. If inspiration strikes, just be aware that spending that much time with one's self is an activity far removed from our generation's typical day.

Sioux Holy Man, Black Elk said, "The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes from within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe…and that its center is within each of us." Lydia Smith's documentary Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago follows six pilgrims from different parts of the world in their attempt to discover that center. The 500-mile trek to Santiago de Compostela Camino in Spain has been undertaken in the past by St. Francis of Assisi, Charlemagne, Ferdinand and Isabella, Dante, and Chaucer (and Shirley MacLaine), and has become a big part of Europe's tourist industry with thousands of travelers from every religion and walk of life completing the walk each year.

Beginning in St. Jean Pied de Port, France, the path, beautifully photographed by cinematographer Pedro Valenzuela, crosses cities, small villages where cows meander in the center of the road, highways, mountains, and fields en route to Santiago. Wayne is an Episcopal priest from Canada who is undertaking the journey with his friend Jack to pay tribute to his wife who died four years ago. Sam has battled with clinical depression and looks to the trek to discover a renewed sense of self. Annie is an American who develops tendinitis and is forced to slow down, a welcome opportunity for reflection. Tatiana from France has brought along her three year old son Cyrian "to learn many things that he couldn't at home."

The boy's presence strains an existing family relationship with her brother Alexis, however. During the walk, a tentative friendship blossoms into a relationship between Misa and William. "I'm just trying not to figure out why. I'm just supposed to enjoy it," she says. Tomás, from Portugal, like many others, has to deal with foot blisters, a painful knee injury, and changes in the weather that slow the trek. With everything stripped away, they rediscover their ability to transform their life. "The mask disappears, and you transform into yourself," one man says. All struggle to some degree with physical and emotional difficulties along the way but discover that the profound connection which exists in community becomes stronger when you are hungry or hurt and tired but are determined to keep going together.

This was very well done! The photography, the six main people followed, the music, the mood -- all were well-edited, directed, and produced. It shows the full range of the Camino experience: the internal thoughts, the spiritual insights, the physical strains, the solace of nature, the weather, the new friends made, and the sharing with others of all ages and from all countries. In many aspects, I enjoyed this documentary a little bit more than the commendable Camino film "The Way." (I did the last 200 mile portion to Santiago with my two best friends in 2005, and heartily encourage everyone to give it a try...) This film will truly inspire you. Buen Camino!

Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago is not a travelogue of the most famous of the various Camino routes that conclude in Santiago de Compostela, where tradition holds that the bones of the apostle St. James are said to be buried. It is a multi-faceted examination of 6 different journeys undertaken by individuals or pairings of pilgrims, undertaking the 800 km trek between St. Jean Pied de Port in Southern France and Santiago. Many of the everyday details and aspects of the expedition, as well as some (not all) of the more famous landmarks are bypassed, in favour of the conveyance of various broad perspectives and feelings of the epic trip, which is generally filmed in chronological order.

For the most part director Lydia B Smith and her camera crew succeed in creating an interesting accompanying journey for the audience through their subject selection. I admit to being staggered by the sight of the French single mother who chose to do the trek with her 3 year-old son (in and out of his stroller), occasionally accompanied by her brother (when they weren't arguing, which appeared more often than not, to be brought on by the rather prescriptively prim behaviour she expected of him along the journey). On the other hand, whilst I'm glad she completed her Camino, I probably could have done without the middle-aged American lady, who cried a lot complaining about her aches and pains for 90% of her screen time. Some of the bit travellers popping up just for a single interview cameo, such as the Korean lady, and the German guy who turned up with the featured Anglo-Brazilian lady just the one time, were quite interesting and left me wanting to know more about them.

Some thought-provoking, though (it must be said) frequently repetitive asides and commentary is provided by various locals along the way. These include clergy, business owners, volunteers assisting Camino travellers and village and town residents. There is no director narration, though certain information is provided by scroll and various towns and days covered are identified by screen label.

Director Smith clearly has a passion for her subject, having completed the Camino years before beginning this film. This is a professionally compiled, well photographed and edited documentary which features a pleasant soundtrack mainly featuring quite appropriately, some well played Spanish guitars. I think anyone considering undertaking the walk, or looking back at the experience of completing it, will find plenty to savour. Me; I was dying to ask all the walkers why so many were carrying such large packs with items such as sleeping bags and cooking utensils, when all appeared to be staying in hostels and getting cooked meals every night. The question was at least partially answered by the hooked up pair of the Danish lady and her ten years younger Canadian toy boy. She admitted half way through, she had brought too much unnecessary gear and stored it away to be picked up later, continuing with just a light pack. I was also curious as to why it took Lydia Smith some 4 years to assemble the finished product, after shooting it. Seems a hell of a long time for what obviously was a labour of love.

Nowadays we are constantly bombarded by disaster, horror and destruction on a daily basis. When I left the theatre after viewing "Walking the Camino" I was totally relaxed and felt that there was a greater purpose to life. As often happens to me, I had just finished reading a book by Paulo Coelho called "The Pilgrimage" where he describes his experiences on the trek to Santiago de Compostela. He had some pretty momentous stories to tell, so naturally I was extremely interested to find out that others have been doing this walk and also that a movie had been made about it.

What makes the movie work for me was that we follow the trek of various couples and individuals from all sorts of different ages, countries of origin and occupations. Without exception, they all seem to experience trans-formative events along their journey and are far more in tune with themselves and the world at the end of the journey. The excessive walking and exercise seems to clean out their system from physical and emotional junk and allows them to appreciate the world that exists right in front of them on a NOW basis. Filming the end of the walk must have been really tough for the film maker, because all the subjects were so emotional about what they had been through and experienced.