The Way

As I watched The Way, I was extremely inspired by the different stories and burdens of each individual. Although each of the main characters led themselves along different journeys of self-discovery as they walked El Camino, they found solace and companionship in those sharing the same physical journey. My favorite part of the movie as a whole was that the pilgrimage united a mismatched group of people who not only lead very different lifestyles, but also probably never would have met if not for undertaking this journey. The characters were all able to connect and understand each other, despite their differing backgrounds, cultures, and interests. The film inspired me because it never got overly sentimental or dove too deep into the personal experiences of each character. As a religious movie, you might almost expect it to focus on the major change Tom made in his life after making this trek, but instead, the movie ended when the pilgrimage ended. I think the film didn't focus on how El Camino changed Tom's life because the whole movie was about how different people have different reasons for making the pilgrimage and most definitely have different outcomes at the end. Of course we see that Tom's journey evolves from a journey for his son to a journey for himself (or, more accurately, both his son and himself). I loved at the end of the movie when Tom reached the final destination and he put his name on the certificate, but then asked to have the name switched to "Daniel" for his son. While Tom made the physical trek, both Tom and his son, whom Tom carried with him, shared in a spiritual journey.