Ten Years Ago Since "The Way"

[Anniesantiago]

Ten years ago, Joe and I just happened to be in the Pilgrim Office when they were looking for extras for a new movie being shot on the Camino. That movie has changed the lives of many people.
Here is a little blog about it:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-movie-way.html

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Ten years ago, Joe and I just happened to be in the Pilgrim Office when they were looking for extras for a new movie being shot on the Camino. That movie has changed the lives of many people.
Here is a little blog about it:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-movie-way.html

Love this, Annie...thanks for sharing the photos...and your heart!

 

[Karl Oz]

Some Americans were talking about such a movie in 2012 on my first CF trip. I had never heard of it. Ten days later I was back in Melbourne, watching it in a cinema and seeing the very places I had just walked.

Naturally I loved it. There were a couple of scenes I thought not quite believable, but largely it was a pretty good representation of the camino.

 

[GettingThere]

Beautiful blog post Annie - thank you for sharing this.

 

[VNwalking]

I often feel frustrated
when someone comes out
with yet ANOTHER book,
or ANOTHER film,
or ANOTHER You Tube video.
I want to scream "STOP!!!"

You were writing my thoughts, Annie - this and many others. Wonderful blog post!

I never knew about the movie until after I walked.
And I never knew the Camino Francés before the deluge. But fortunately there are other quiet ways to walk, and still many genuine and good people out there, even on the busy Francés. In the scrum their numbers are diluted, but they haven't gone away.

Sometimes it feels like people forget it's only a movie, a fantasy version of the real camino. What I continue to be bemused by are the statements that start with something like, "This is where Tom...," as if it actually happened.

 

[Anamya]

What an amazing story!

I also had never heard of the movie before I walked the first time (2015), so I was surprised by the amount of times I was asked what my thoughts were about Martin Sheen's journey.
I was ALSO surprised, having lived most of my childhood in Brazil, that no one ever asked me about Paulo Coelho's journey, which for my was the "pop culture" reference about the camino. A not-so-great one, imho, but I can see why it was popular in the 80s.

I believe the most important thing in the end isn't what brings you to the camino, but what do you take from the experience once you had your own go at it.

 

[scott the farmer]

Thanks for the link for me the movie was the catalyst for walking the Camino for which I am very grateful.

 

[FLEUR]

I think that movie has a lot to answer for!
Good, bad and indifferent! LOL!

 

[Former member 42123]

Just back from Camino yesterday and love your post.Thank you.

 

[Bradypus]

"This movie did so much to popularize the Camino. Before it, who had heard of the Camino de Santiago,unless they were Catholic?"

Well - me for one. A Scottish Presbyterian by upbringing and a recent defector to Anglicanism at the time of my first Camino in 1990 Also my non-religious mother-in-law who had walked in 1985 as part of a large international group (20+) most of whom were not Catholic either. And many of those who I met on my second Camino in 2002. I think that sometimes the influence of that movie is overstated and that people assume that its undoubted effect in increasing public awareness of the Caminos in the USA was true globally. Quite a lot of us who live elsewhere had already had that memo some time before...

 

[VNwalking]

I believe the most important thing in the end isn't what brings you to the camino, but what do you take from the experience once you had your own go at it.

Amen.

Before it, who had heard of the Camino de Santiago, unless they were Catholic?"

@Badypus is not the only one. Me for another, though I never set foot on it until about 35 years after I first learned of it.

 

[Bradypus]

An odd piece of news this morning. Orange Spain have commissioned a screenwriter to write a horror movie about the disappearance of a group of young walkers on the Camino. To be filmed soon using the same "found footage" concept that was famously used in The Blair Witch Project. It will be interesting to see if this also turns out to be a landmark moment in Camino history...

Orange Spain reveals first drama production

The first co-production produced by Mediapro on behalf of Orange Spain is a horror movie.

www.broadbandtvnews.com

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I never saw the movie you refer to, but possibly a horror movie based on the Camino may keep fewer people from walking. Could that possibly be a good thing?

 

[Bradypus]

I never saw the movie you refer to, but possibly a horror movie based on the Camino may keep fewer people from walking. Could that possibly be a good thing?

I for one would be glad to see numbers on the Camino Frances thinned out a little. But I doubt that a horror movie would scare many away. Ever been to Transylvania and seen all the tourist industry built around Dracula and vampires?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Nope...I dislike horror movies and usually steer clear!

 

[RJM]

An odd piece of news this morning. Orange Spain have commissioned a screenwriter to write a horror movie about the disappearance of a group of young walkers on the Camino. To be filmed soon using the same "found footage" concept that was famously used in The Blair Witch Project. It will be interesting to see if this also turns out to be a landmark moment in Camino history...

Orange Spain reveals first drama production

The first co-production produced by Mediapro on behalf of Orange Spain is a horror movie.

www.broadbandtvnews.com

Hmmm, sounds lame IMO. A waste of perfectly good celluloid.

 

[Bradypus]

Hmmm, sounds lame IMO. A waste of perfectly good celluloid.

As the plan is to make it mostly from mobile phone videos I think celluloid will not be an issue. And one of the best features of micro-SD cards is the ability to wipe out your less successful ventures and use them for something better

 

[Kathor1]

As the plan is to make it mostly from mobile phone videos I think celluloid will not be an issue. And one of the best features of micro-SD cards is the ability to wipe out your less successful ventures and use them for something better

Good reply but I think something got lost in the translation here. The way I understand it, it will be a TV series, for the Spanish market, produced for Orange TV which is a broadband TV channel and video on demand service and the main narrative involves images from the mobile phones of the group members who have disappeared.

I realise that this thread is an hommage to the impact of the US movie The Way but to answer the rhetorical question of who had heard of the Camino to Santiago before 2010: plenty of people. All those who read newspapers (remember those?) and books (remember hardcopies?) and watched terrestrial TV in their home countries and their native languages. Have a look at which year the Friends of the Camino associations were founded in Spain, Germany, France, Benelux, Italy, nearly all of them a good 25 years before 2010. That's a quarter of a century earlier! In the decade of 1980-1990, the associations began to spread throughout Europe and so did the publicity about the Way to Saint James in Galicia.

How exciting, @Anniesantiago, that you were there when the movie was filmed in Santiago and you are even in it! Can you post a screen shot of you and your friend in the movie? ☺

 

[easygoing]

I agree many heard of the Camino Francis before the movie The Way. I had heard about it years ago when Shirley McLain walked it. But she was too far out to inspire me to even read her book. However, I realized that this is a walk for anyone seeking and that it is an inspiring walk after I viewed the movie The Way.
My first Camino with much praying helped me undo the damages to my spirit caused by a abusive childhood and a worse first husband. The Camino gave me the first feeling of belonging I ever felt which gave me the courage to be myself. I've since walked 9 times and am in Santiago this moment.
I thank the movie for inspiring me to come to Spain and keep coming back for more but now I give as much as I receive.

 

[david46]

I think that movie has a lot to answer for!
Good, bad and indifferent! LOL!

Yes, such as making me believe that I could run after someone who had stolen my rucksack. Run? Most days I could hardly walk!

 

[John Sikora]

Yep was sitting on the living room couch in 2013 watching that movie and said to my wife "I think I'd like to do that" to which she replied "You're crazy". It's nice when too people agree on something.

BTW, if you get the chance, stay in the inn where Emilio Estevez met his wife (the grand daughter of the owner). Grandma is also a great cook.

 

[TSchulen]

"...When I run into people
who are unkind, un-pilgrim-like,
un-(fill in the blank) in my judgmental mind... "

My thoughts exactly, yet this is what I personally need(ed) to work on - not judging people. It took several days on the Camino to try and let it go. I still struggle with it a lot, but I try to remember how I felt on the Camino, freedom of the burden of judging others. Trying to imagine what they had going on in their life that would bring them here. There are a lot of wonderful people out there who challenge me to be better. It would be nice not to have to deal with crowds, race for beds, etc. , but if it weren't for all of the challenges, I would have missed that lesson.

 

[t2andreo]

An odd piece of news this morning. Orange Spain have commissioned a screenwriter to write a horror movie about the disappearance of a group of young walkers on the Camino. To be filmed soon using the same "found footage" concept that was famously used in The Blair Witch Project. It will be interesting to see if this also turns out to be a landmark moment in Camino history...

Orange Spain reveals first drama production

The first co-production produced by Mediapro on behalf of Orange Spain is a horror movie.

www.broadbandtvnews.com

Well, this will certainly serve to depress the pilgrim numbers... I hope... but not too much...

 

[RJM]

As the plan is to make it mostly from mobile phone videos I think celluloid will not be an issue. And one of the best features of micro-SD cards is the ability to wipe out your less successful ventures and use them for something better

A movie made from mobile phone videos. Even more nauseating.....

 

[Former member 42123]

I agree many heard of the Camino Francis before the movie The Way. I had heard about it years ago when Shirley McLain walked it. But she was too far out to inspire me to even read her book. However, I realized that this is a walk for anyone seeking and that it is an inspiring walk after I viewed the movie The Way.
My first Camino with much praying helped me undo the damages to my spirit caused by a abusive childhood and a worse first husband. The Camino gave me the first feeling of belonging I ever felt which gave me the courage to be myself. I've since walked 9 times and am in Santiago this moment.
I thank the movie for inspiring me to come to Spain and keep coming back for more but now I give as much as I receive.

I too read a brief article in a newspaper as a young man and thought I'D like to do that',but did not have the time or the cash to do it.I read a book about 20 years later that reminded me of my interest,long before the movie.I have just returned from my sixth visit since I retired at 65 and each year meet the most wonderful people from all over the world.I still meet people who have been inspired by the movie,but it matters not what sparks the interest as long as we still walk the way.

 

[Rich1]

Well, I hadn't heard of the Camino before "The Way". Jenny & I watched it together and after about 30 minutes we looked at each other and said "We have to do that"...and we did...and continue to do so

 

[David Tallan]

"This movie did so much to popularize the Camino. Before it, who had heard of the Camino de Santiago,unless they were Catholic?"

Well - me for one.

Me for two. I think I discovered it in my 1989 edition of Let's Go -Spain, Portugal and Morocco. So a fair number of university students and backpackers with the same book would have been aware of it, too.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Good reply but I think something got lost in the translation here. The way I understand it, it will be a TV series, for the Spanish market, produced for Orange TV which is a broadband TV channel and video on demand service and the main narrative involves images from the mobile phones of the group members who have disappeared.

I realise that this thread is an hommage to the impact of the US movie The Way but to answer the rhetorical question of who had heard of the Camino to Santiago before 2010: plenty of people. All those who read newspapers (remember those?) and books (remember hardcopies?) and watched terrestrial TV in their home countries and their native languages. Have a look at which year the Friends of the Camino associations were founded in Spain, Germany, France, Benelux, Italy, nearly all of them a good 25 years before 2010. That's a quarter of a century earlier! In the decade of 1980-1990, the associations began to spread throughout Europe and so did the publicity about the Way to Saint James in Galicia.

How exciting, @Anniesantiago, that you were there when the movie was filmed in Santiago and you are even in it! Can you post a screen shot of you and your friend in the movie? ☺

No. lol!
It's too hard to find, but if I DO watch it again and can get the shot, I will.

 

[Deleted member 59555]

Love this, Annie...thanks for sharing the photos...and your heart!

Thank you for your blog It is amazing where the film has taken all of us. I too have had my life changed by the film. Like you on my second walk I walked as a subject in a film sharing the lives of many others for some thirty eight days.
I have also written a book to be published by Christmas. Neither of these two project will I ever make any money out of.
I will also not mention the name of the film or book unless some one asks for them out of respect for the site and the present blog.
I have now walked the Camino three times in two years all of them the Frances.
I know People like me are the reason the the Camino is changing but it is changing. I have noticed this over the three walks
Thank you for the blog and god bless.

 

[David Tallan]

For the record, when I said, "WHO would know that?" I was talking about myself and my immediate circle of friends and family, most of whom are either LDS, Pentacostals, or pagan! lol!

I'm well aware many of YOU had heard of it!
Many of YOU were already here when I popped in the first time.

Actually, I suspect many of my pagan friends in the 80s were aware of it, too, but then again, most of them were into medieval studies.

And I'm certainly not denying that the movie did a lot to popularize the route and that many people discover it and walk it after seeing the movie. But it was one in a chain of efforts/events that increasingly popularized it in a sort of spiral since the latter part of the twentieth century.

 

[C clearly]

the influence of that movie is overstated and that people assume that its undoubted effect in increasing public awareness of the Caminos in the USA was true globally. Quite a lot of us who live elsewhere had already had that memo some time before...

Yes, the 2010 movie cannot be credited or blamed for more than a fraction of the increased popularity. Similarly, Brierley shouldn't be blamed for the popular stages.

From the 2018 statistics (see attachment), roughly 80% of pilgrims came from 10 countries. Of those 10 countries, there were 3 English-speaking ones that contributed only 10% of all pilgrims.

Don't forget the effects of Hape Keperling's "I'm Off Then", which was published in 2006, became a bestseller in Germany and sold 3 million copies.

A 2008 television series in Korea, combined with other publicity, pushed Korea onto the list.

 

[John Hawke]

Wonderful.
Thank you

 

[Bradypus]

Yes, the 2010 movie cannot be credited or blamed for more than a fraction of the increased popularity. Similarly, Brierley shouldn't be blamed for the popular stages.

I think that many of us prefer simple explanations. The reality is probably much more complicated and messy. The first edition of the Brierley Camino Frances guide appeared in 2003 I believe. There had already been enormous growth in numbers in the Caminos by that point - relatively little of which was from English-speaking countries. "The Way" may have prompted an increase in the number of Americans walking the Caminos after 2010 but again they remain a small element in the overall scheme of things. As a forum with English as our common language I think we are inclined to place more weight on Brierley and Estevez than they really deserve.

 

[RJM]

As mentioned in this thread, the Camino's popularity in Korea is due to some degree to a 2008 television series. I've heard that mentioned several times while walking the Camino. Anybody know the name of the series? Was it documentary style or fictional drama type?

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

So well stated. (ALL of it).

Thank you for posting this...............and I hope you some day get your 2 Euros !!!!!!!!!!!LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mvanert]

Ten years ago, Joe and I just happened to be in the Pilgrim Office when they were looking for extras for a new movie being shot on the Camino. That movie has changed the lives of many people.
Here is a little blog about it:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-movie-way.html

This movie is why I first walked the camino. It's true, it is not a total representation of the route but for me it was for the people I met, friends made and memories that'll never diminish. I'm glad it was made.

 

[naplesdon]

I never saw the movie you refer to, but possibly a horror movie based on the Camino may keep fewer people from walking. Could that possibly be a good thing?

The Holy Year Horror Picture Show, complete with songs and group dance moves, it could become a major cult classic. I would feature Marin Sheen, as a transvestite priest in his comeback role on the Camino, Susan Sarandon, as an ex-nun who wants to kick her habit, Meat Loaf who writes poetry and drinks too much, the return of Joost who probably hasn't had movie gig since 2009 and Emilio Estevez, as a ghost who haunts the cast in every scene.

 

[C clearly]

the Camino's popularity in Korea is due to some degree to a 2008 television series. I've heard that mentioned several times while walking the Camino. Anybody know the name of the series? Was it documentary style or fictional drama type?

According to this source, it was "a series of programs in a documentary about the route."

 

[KinkyOne]

As the plan is to make it mostly from mobile phone videos I think celluloid will not be an issue. And one of the best features of micro-SD cards is the ability to wipe out your less successful ventures and use them for something better

It's not about digital cameras or "old-fashioned" film stock cameras. Sometimes you can re-create mobile phone footage better with 8mm or 16mm film stock than with digital equipment. It depends on what the film director and DOP decide.
Of course with today's mobile phones you can use them no problem but the options for corrections of light, colour etc. are still much more limited than with film/digital footage.

 

[KinkyOne]

...
I realise that this thread is an hommage to the impact of the US movie The Way but to answer the rhetorical question of who had heard of the Camino to Santiago before 2010: plenty of people.
...

And while we are talking about the movies this one hasn't been mentioned in this thread although it was released 5 years prior to The Way:

Saint-Jacques... La Mecque (2005) ⭐ 6.3 | Comedy, Drama

1h 50m

www.imdb.com

And much better movie than The Way BTW

That's how and when I first heard of Camino.

 

[Anniesantiago]

And while we are talking about the movies this one hasn't been mentioned in this thread although it was released 5 years prior to The Way:

Saint-Jacques... La Mecque (2005) ⭐ 6.3 | Comedy, Drama

1h 50m

www.imdb.com

And much better movie than The Way BTW

That's how and when I first heard of Camino.

Never heard of it.
Can I watch it on that link?

 

[KinkyOne]

Never heard of it.
Can I watch it on that link?

Nope.
IMDb is just Internet Movie Database with all the important data about movies, TV series etc.
You should either buy the DVD/BlueRay disc or watch it on-line. I haven't checked where because I saw it twice on regular TV programme already. Will take a look but it is a piracy of course...

Here you have it:
https://ok.ru/video/94223010390 (bad copy although watchable, without English subtitles, it's French)

 

[alhartman]

Movie "The Way' Released USA October 2011

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Small bits are viewable on Youtube.com

 

[KinkyOne]

Small bits are viewable on Youtube.com

Check out my above post (no.42).

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Thank you.................

I knew I should have paid more attention in that French class in high school !

 

[KinkyOne]

View attachment 65098 Movie "The Way' Released USA October 2011

Yup, correct: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441912/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ov_inf
But one German and one Danish guys asked me if I watched the movie in June of 2011 on CF in Burgos. DVD maybe? But I didn't ask at the time because I knew nothing about it

 

[Bob from L.A. !]

Those statistics are amazing ! (See #43)

 

[Bradypus]

But one German and one Danish guys asked me if I watched the movie in June of 2011 on CF in Burgos. DVD maybe? But I didn't ask at the time because I knew nothing about it

It was released in Spain in November 2010. A very long delay after that before the USA release in October 2011.

 

[KinkyOne]

It was released in Spain in November 2010. A very long delay after that before the USA release in October 2011.

Yes, but those two guys were walking the Camino and not living in Spain when it happened. That's why I mentioned DVD with a question mark. It was officially released a whole year later in Germany for example but they both seen it in 2011

 

[VNwalking]

Movie "The Way' Released USA October 2011

Correlation may not mean causation, but that's definitely correlation!
That said, there are many of us from the US who never laid eyes on the movie before coming to the Camino for other reasons altogether, after the movie was released.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Check out my above post (no.42).

I'm going to try to watch it, but I don't know French...bummer no subtitles.

 

[KinkyOne]

I'm going to try to watch it, but I don't know French...bummer no subtitles.

The main premise is that two sons (one workaholic, the other one alcoholic) and a sister (fighting the cancer if I remember well) are very much allienated. Their rich mother wrote in her last will that they will inherit the money only if they go together on the Chemin de St.Jacques. I think they started from Le Puy. They are part of the group with very much different characters and a guide. Second part is already taking place in Spain and they meet other pilgrims, for example snoring Germans etc. That's more or less the story. Of course they somehow reconnect, rethink etc. their relations and attitudes. The rest will be very much self evident but not knowing French will left you without much of the witty dialogues between them. And emotional. Nice movie!

 

[Darby67]

My induction to the Camino de Santiago came with my Spanish boss showing me the wineries I would be in charge of in 1998. My Spanish, 3 years in High School in Hawai'i, was strong in the form of vocabulary but weak in the form of grammar. I was Manuel from Fawlty Towers but in reverse. I would respond with a "si" as soon as anybody finished a sentence and my accent was good which at times fooled people but not my boss! He finally stopped the car one day and told me to quit answering with "si" if I didn't understand...I promptly responded with "si". In retrospect his patience was the only thing that made the whole venture possible. I was pretty certain that I understood about 80% of the subject, but I quickly found that the 20% was the incredibly important. That improved over the time but the villagers in Lerga, Artazu and the parent company in Laguardia quickly began calling, "el guiri". To my closest friends in Spain, they still use this slang instead of my name.

I laugh now but it was hard. What made it more challenging is that the two wineries I worked in were in Navarra and the temps would only speak Basque, to make my introduction to Spain that more challenging, and smoked hashish mixed with tobacco at every opportunity. One of the villages was above Puente la Reina, Artazu. The other was about 20 minutes from Olite, close to San Martín de Unx. My boss took the time to show me Eunate and I remember feeling so lucky, so incredibly lucky, to be there immersed in history which I realized I was more inclined to live rather than learn in a book. What kid from Hawai'i was as lucky as I was to be this immersed I thought at the time.

In my commute from Logroño along the two lane highway, NA-1120, I would occasionally see pilgrims walking on their way to Logroño all along the road from Lazagurría, which is well off the current route, to Puente la Reina. Whether the route changed I have no idea or perhaps the pilgrims I saw were more comforted with the asphalt. But as chance would have it one day in Logroño I was in a bar having a bite to eat and overheard a pilgrim asking where the nearest internet lounge was in English. As my real bit of connectedness to my language was waiting for the English version of National Geographic to come out at the corner Estanco I jumped up and offered for the pilgrim to use my computer for as long as he wanted: much to the amusement of the locals as none of them spoke English. I was starving to speak English. He wasn't English, and I really don't recall exactly but I believe he was Dutch. My apartment was just on the corner of Gonzalo de Berceo and Murrietta, 100m from where the camino heads up out of the city. We chatted for a bit between the dial up connected and dropped and I began thinking that this guy was nuts for doing this walk. But I admired him in his belief and his devotion. From that point on it was a hunger that I felt someday I would satisfy. Being of about 35% Polish and Ukranian ancestry I couldn't help wonder if at some point some of my DNA heritage possibly wandered through the areas that I worked and lived on their way to pay respects to Santiago and that fascinated me.

While the movie, The Way, has it's ups and downs as far as reality it was enough for me to push me to continue to think about walking. A few years of difficulty in life was the final push to get me to do it. Personally I am thankful for all the little bits of history and happenstance that lead me to finally wander myself.

 

[freeflyer123]

I don't know how the Camino cannot change everybody, whether doing it for religious or non-religious reasons to be honest. We were definitely inspired by The Way but had already thought about embarking on it as we had already known of the Camino through friends and even a chance encounter with some nuns who were cycling all the way from their home in the north of the UK. As dedicated cyclists ourselves we decided to ride the route rather than walk it. And both felt that our special Camino started from our back door in the south of England- although we had transport in the form of a commercial coach until we reached Bayonne.

We rode the Camino in 2013 (and yes, we have a blog about it). Both my husband and I felt as if we were "going home" as the pull to be on the route was strong. Indeed, we hadn't even booked how to get back home after we had reached Santiago (getting the bikes shipped home and hopping onto a trains proved expensive but well worth it for what turned out to be the most life-enhancing experiences of our lives).

It seems that these days the Camino is pretty crowded so we probably won't go again, which is a great shame. We have had many holidays in Europe, always on our bikes, but the Camino will always have a special place in my heart.

 

[Kathor1]

And while we are talking about the movies this one hasn't been mentioned in this thread although it was released 5 years prior to The Way.

I am a fan of Saint-Jacques ... La Mecque. One of the few movies I actually have on DVD. But unlike The Way, I enjoy it because of the dialogue, the laughter and giggles it gives me, and because I can relate to the way the actual walking with a backpack and in a group is represented. I could do without the dream scenes, though. Of course, it, too, is a feel good story. I've watched it a few times and wouldn't mind watching it a few more times. Of course, it's great to see places that you recognise because you've been there, it's an added bonus. To me, it feels less shallow and more original/creative than The Way.

I've seen The Way once or twice. I started up one of the pirate copies on YouTube a few times recently to help someone with identifying churches shown in the movie but I can't watch it as such anymore. I turn the sound off and put it on accelerated speed. I'm always a little astonished when I read that others can watch it dozen of times ... unless they do as I do?

 

[Bradypus]

I'm always a little astonished when I read that others can watch it dozen of times ... unless they do as I do?

Me too. I found it fairly entertaining on the couple of occasions I have watched it but I was not particularly moved by it and I feel no great need to watch it again. I sometimes wonder if its most avid fan base is amongst those who first learned of the Caminos by seeing the film and therefore see the movie and the Camino itself as more closely intertwined? I think there may be something of that at play in the extraordinary degree of affection and loyalty which many users of the Brierley guides feel for them too: the lens through which they first encountered the Camino.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I'm going to try to watch it, but I don't know French...bummer no subtitles.

You shouldn't have a problem with this version.
Click on the white title to see the video on YouTube itself.
youtube video id: OA6aq85WhXU

 

[Camino Chrissy]

You shouldn't have a problem with this version.
Click on the white title to see the video on YouTube itself.
youtube video id: OA6aq85WhXU

Rick, I own this video and have watched it four times. Kinky has a French video of a. Camino movie, but it has a different story. Thanks, though for taking the time to post this one as others maybe have not seen it.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Rick, I own this video and have watched it four times. Kinky has a French video of a. Camino movie, but it has a different story. Thanks, though for taking the time to post this one as others maybe have not seen it.

Oh, I got confused about which video was being discussed.

I watched The Way again a few hours ago while having blood products sucked out of me. I figured why not since the video and robot Dracula take the same amount of time and I'll be on camino in about three weeks. I looked for Annie and Joe but didn't see them. This was the first time that I listened to the commentary. I found out many interesting things. Like Sheen did his own stunts in the river scene because the hired stunt man refused to go in again.

 

[Bradypus]

I watched The Way again a few hours ago while having blood products sucked out of me.

A few years ago I was giving blood when I realised that the music I was listening to on the sound system was the soundtrack album for "Little Shop of Horrors": a musical about a giant plant hungry for blood. I couldn't stop laughing and a couple of staff came over to check that I was not having some bizarre physical reaction to the donation process. As they had never heard of the film they couldn't understand why I found it so funny

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Yes, I'd seen the commentary, too. After I first saw the movie in late 2014, I googled anything extra I could find about the making of the movie...it remains a favorite!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

A few years ago I was giving blood when I realised that the music I was listening to on the sound system was the soundtrack album for "Little Shop of Horrors": a musical about a giant plant hungry for blood. I couldn't stop laughing and a couple of staff came over to check that I was not having some bizarre physical reaction to the donation process. As they had never heard of the film they couldn't understand why I found it so funny

I have seen very few plays in my day, but "Little Shop of Horrors" was one of them. It was quite amusing and did provide some laughs!

 

[Kathor1]

And it's fifty years since La Voie Lactée/The Milky Way.

It's probably the first Camino movie that I've seen. By Luis Buñuel, called a dominant international movie director by the NYT when he died in 1983. How many have even heard of him today, let alone seen his movies and this one in particular?

The movie starts with an image of a map of the four roads leading through France to Santiago, accompanied by the voice of a narrator who describes the history of the pilgrimage from its medieval beginnings until now, an "important pilgrimage that still exists today" [in 1969 when the movie was made] and the usual stuff that you read at the beginning of every guidebook today, such as 500,000 pilgrims annually (a claim disputed by many scholars today), from all over Europe, Compostela meaning field of stars (doubtful), the Milky Way being called Saint James Way in many Western languages (true).

The movie was released in movie theatres in many European countries in 1970 such as France, Germany, Benelux, the UK; in Spain only in 1977. I don't know about Italy. It was a bit ... controversial. Two guys walking and hitch-hiking from Paris to Santiago de Compostela. Carrying all their stuff themselves, btw, and not with a lot of money.

 

[Bradypus]

@Kathar1na In my opinion La Voie Lactée is a much more interesting film than The Way but I can see why Mr Estevez's one has proved more popular - especially for those with a more conventional and conservative religious outlook

 

[Former member 49149]

And it's fifty years since La Voie Lactée/The Milky Way.

It's probably the first Camino movie that I've seen. By Luis Buñuel, called a dominant international movie director by the NYT when he died in 1983. How many have even heard of him today, let alone seen his movies and this one in particular?

The movie starts with an image of a map of the four roads leading through France to Santiago, accompanied by the voice of a narrator who describes the history of the pilgrimage from its medieval beginnings until now, an "important pilgrimage that still exists today" [in 1969 when the movie was made] and the usual stuff that you read at the beginning of every guidebook today, such as 500,000 pilgrims annually (a claim disputed by many scholars today), from all over Europe, Compostela meaning field of stars (doubtful), the Milky Way being called Saint James Way in many Western languages (true).

The movie was released in movie theatres in many European countries in 1970 such as France, Germany, Benelux, the UK; in Spain only in 1977. I don't know about Italy. It was a bit ... controversial. Two guys walking and hitch-hiking from Paris to Santiago de Compostela. Carrying all their stuff themselves, btw, and not with a lot of money.

\
Yes, I have heard of him, and have seen one film he made that he had to make in France, if I am correct. It was a long time ago, and I think it was part of an exhibition called Las Edades del Hombre.,
Thanks for the link, I will look it up, as I was impressed by his artistry.

 

[t2andreo]

I just wrote this in another thread relating to the Holy Year thread. Click on the link...

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/holy-year.64628/#post-788674

It might be interesting to this thread as well...

 

[pelerine]

And while we are talking about the movies this one hasn't been mentioned in this thread although it was released 5 years prior to The Way:

Saint-Jacques... La Mecque (2005) ⭐ 6.3 | Comedy, Drama

1h 50m

www.imdb.com

And much better movie than The Way BTW

That's how and when I first heard of Camino.

I am a fan of Saint-Jacques ... La Mecque. One of the few movies I actually have on DVD. But unlike The Way, I enjoy it because of the dialogue, the laughter and giggles it gives me, and because I can relate to the way the actual walking with a backpack and in a group is represented. I could do without the dream scenes, though. Of course, it, too, is a feel good story. I've watched it a few times and wouldn't mind watching it a few more times. Of course, it's great to see places that you recognise because you've been there, it's an added bonus. To me, it feels less shallow and more original/creative than The Way.

I've seen The Way once or twice. I started up one of the pirate copies on YouTube a few times recently to help someone with identifying churches shown in the movie but I can't watch it as such anymore. I turn the sound off and put it on accelerated speed. I'm always a little astonished when I read that others can watch it dozen of times ... unless they do as I do?

While we are talking/reading about movies about the camino - how about my favourite “I’ll push you” which is a documentary I find very moving.
As to St Jacques - La meque, I have it both in French and German. so maybe there is an English version too. Can’t look it up right now....

 

[Kathor1]

Yes, I have heard of him, and have seen one film he made that he had to make in France, if I am correct. It was a long time ago, and I think it was part of an exhibition called Las Edades del Hombre.,
Thanks for the link, I will look it up, as I was impressed by his artistry.

Buñuel's movies are not to everyone's taste. In large parts, the underlying story of La Voie Lactée/The Milky Way touches on church history, in particular heretics and how Christian theology and beliefs developed throughout the ages. I think it is an excellent movie but I would hesitate to recommend it in general. I mentioned the movie mainly to point out that already 50 years ago there was a successful movie that was connected to the pilgrimage and the Way to Santiago and people were aware of it, to a much larger extent in Europe than in the USA where this movie remained unknown at the time, I think.

We are often talking on the forum about "when did you first hear of the Way to Santiago". I can't tell. I don't even remember when I saw this Buñuel movie for the first time but it is part of the diffuse cultural background that contributed to knowing about it. This is a different departure point than when you had never heard about it before and watching The Way is your first introduction.

There was a lot of stuff that I did not get when I watched The Milky Way the first time but that I get now. I even get funny bits that I did not get at first. That may have to do something with the fact that my French is a lot better now, too . I did not get, for example, that the two protagonists are dressed like pilgrims in the sense that they don't wear backpacks but carry their stuff in the typical ways of medieval pilgrims. Or I knew nothing about the Spanish bishop Priscillian in Avila but I know a bit more now and that there may or may not be a very strong connection to the Santiago pilgrimage.

 

[Bagman7540]

I can't remember when I first saw the movie, but I will say it brought the Camino to my attention. At that time I was so wrapped up in my life that I failed to recognize that I wasn't living my life, just passing the days. I started my research and 3 years later I completed the Frances. While I understand that this movie may have popularized the Camino, and made it more crowded with tourists, it also gave people like me exposure to it that I never would have had. Good or bad, accurate or inaccurate, this movie gave me, at 52 years old, the impetus to get off the couch and take the time to explore ME for 33 days. Even if I am the only one (doubtful) that experienced this, I think it is a good thing. Introspection and self-examination are essential for growth and we, as a community, should be grateful for the opportunity to grow. I know I have grown as a member of the world community. I visit my Camino brothers and sisters throughout the world now, and feel a membership in something larger than my plebeian life.

 

[deg333]

What an amazing story!

I also had never heard of the movie before I walked the first time (2015), so I was surprised by the amount of times I was asked what my thoughts were about Martin Sheen's journey.
I was ALSO surprised, having lived most of my childhood in Brazil, that no one ever asked me about Paulo Coelho's journey, which for my was the "pop culture" reference about the camino. A not-so-great one, imho, but I can see why it was popular in the 80s.

I believe the most important thing in the end isn't what brings you to the camino, but what do you take from the experience once you had your own go at it.

I walked the Frances first in 2001 and either people knew about the camino from Shirley Maclaine's book or Paulo Coehlo.

 

[Chris&his_long_walk]

Ten years ago, Joe and I just happened to be in the Pilgrim Office when they were looking for extras for a new movie being shot on the Camino. That movie has changed the lives of many people.
Here is a little blog about it:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-movie-way.html

The film is what made me first aware of the Camino, and ever since I have wanted to take part & hopefully next year will be the year for me. Life has changed for me this year and now I find myself at a crossroads so time to do something for me.

 

[capun]

We were planning to do El Camino a while back before the movie was released. We knew it from our Catholic background, Paulo Coelho's book and from another movie about a young man adventures in Spain (can't remember the name). We watched the movie before our trip in 2013 and after our trip we can say that the movie was more like a semi-documentary and not a Hollywood movie that distorts the truth. I would say that the Cathedral scenes pretty much summarizes what you get when you travel El Camino, some go for spiritual reasons, some go for a cheap vacation but hopefully in most cases it will change you a bit for the best.

PS. For many reasons we could only do the Sarria to Santiago section. I personally would like to do the full route before age and physical ailments won't let me do it.

 

[Nwsherman]

Some Americans were talking about such a movie in 2012 on my first CF trip. I had never heard of it. Ten days later I was back in Melbourne, watching it in a cinema and seeing the very places I had just walked.

Naturally I loved it. There were a couple of scenes I thought not quite believable, but largely it was a pretty good representation of the camino.

The movie relied heavily on Jack Hitt’s ‘Off the Road’. (My favorite Camino book! History with great tales.) one of the most unbelievable parts of the movie, for me, was that crazy guy who talked with himself and had them go to the bathroom outside. (When he Really needed a bathroom!) That was actually in Jack Hitt’s book.

 

[donnasanjuan]

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing. Yes, the movie did introduce me to the Camino but it wasn't until a few years later that I was inspired by a book called God's Hotel that led me and my husband to the Camino for my 50th birthday. The book is about changes to the healthcare system in the US and the last Almshouse in the country, Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco. The doctor who wrote the story told of her time on the the Camino and how she wanted to connect to a lost way of treating patients.

 

[Tom Quinn]

I never saw the movie you refer to, but possibly a horror movie based on the Camino may keep fewer people from walking. Could that possibly be a good thing?

No

 

[LTfit]

Me too. I found it fairly entertaining on the couple of occasions I have watched it but I was not particularly moved by it and I feel no great need to watch it again. I sometimes wonder if its most avid fan base is amongst those who first learned of the Caminos by seeing the film and therefore see the movie and the Camino itself as more closely intertwined? I think there may be something of that at play in the extraordinary degree of affection and loyalty which many users of the Brierley guides feel for them too: the lens through which they first encountered the Camino.

I think you may be right (this is coming from a non-Brierley guide user and someone who disliked The Way).

I'm actually pleased that I walked the Francés for the first time before the movie came out. Someone gave me the DVD but I was never moved to see it more than once. But then again, I don't read books about the Camino nor personal journals. Just let me walk!