The Way of Saint James is an amazing journey and one which I could not imagine myself taking. It is certainly one long walk. Emilio Estevez is another one of those film makers who had a big career in front of the camera but has now found a second wind behind the camera. Emilio has turned into a great director making some excellent films. His last film 'Bobby' was an ensemble film about a big event. This is something smaller and more personal. The story is full of cliches and is fairly predictable but Emilio makes it seem fun. It is also very episodic with a series of funny scenes as Tom arrives in a town. But that does not matter. The characters he has surrounded his lead with are really interesting so make up for the blandness. That is not a bad thing as you know our hero, Tom, is going through a tough journey having lost his son. So you need these supporting characters to lighten things up.
While I have liked Martin Sheen for a while it was not until the TV series 'The West Wing' that I became a big fan. He plays a fairly cliched character here,the grumpy old man who goes on a journey to get reacquainted with his son. But you do come to care for the journey he is going on so it becomes more emotional. Despite looking like she has had some work done, Deborah Kara Unger makes a nice grumpy woman. Yorick Van Wageningen provides much of the films comedy and does a good job. James Nesbitt makes a nice annoying character that all these journey films seem to need. Even the cameo appearances as by Emilio as Tom's son give the film a little bit more emotional impact.
An excellent journey movie with lots of emotion. You may even learn about a part of the world you were not previously aware of.
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