Actor/writer/director Emilio Estevez casts his dad (Martin Sheen) as Tom Avery, whose only son, Daniel (Estevez), is killed as he commences his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. The 60-something Tom decides to make the pilgrimage himself, Daniel’s ashes in tow. En route, he collects a slew of companions—Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), Joost (Yorick van Wageningen) and Jack (James Nesbitt)—a compatible cast who infuriate each other as siblings do. Too bad Estevez slapped on such an intrusive soundtrack: soft piano music, melancholic oooh-ing and aaah-ing and montages of the group schlepping backpacks along dusty paths as James Taylor and Alanis Morissette songs coo and bray in the background. At two hours, The Way is a bit of a trek that begs for a short cut.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.