Ken Burns Reads Rooftop Reviews! ("The Way" with Martin Sheen) 2011

NOTE:  September 22nd, 2019. Have just noticed the many recent negative comments about my review of this long forgotten film. But the best part was the comment from Ken Burns. Who knew he even read this blog? He wanted me to remove the whole thing. This post was originally done October 29, 2011. I have to wonder about the timing of these recent negative comments about an 8 year old review.

It seems I made an error in believing that the film is a true story, when in fact, it is only loosely based upon one. And I'm not the only one who was fooled, as you can see by googling the film on IMdB. Link handily provided below and in comments.

I have been on here for 10 years, apparently reviewing things with no problems of perception. I was surprised at the comments. (Please read them below.)

As previously stated, I am not the only one confused by this film. Read the plot summary on IMdB. It clearly says that he goes to retrieve the body of his son who died on the Pilgramage. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441912/

So, in essence, this review is an example of what can happen when a film is made too convoluted, or with an assumption that everyone knows the backstory.

Out of my 2,200 posts I may have gotten this one wrong. I think that figure speaks more to the clarity of the film's direction than to my ability to understand a film. It was pretty cool to have any comment at all though, even a negative one, from Ken Burns. I don't kid myself he is a regular reader. Just friends with someone who was annoyed with my review.

I have attempted to research and find out just what my error was, all the comments after the first one in 2012 were less than informative, just that the review was bad. If I ever re-screen this long forgotten film I will attempt to review it again. Meantime, I have modified it to remove any factual errors.
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This film, is a story about hiking the Pyrenees between France and Spain. The purpose of the hike is to trod the road taken by so many Catholics over the centuries in tribute to Santiago de Compostela who made the journey centuries ago, arriving at the site of the famed cathedral named after him.

APPARENTLY THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH WAS INCORRECT. I WILL HAVE TO RE-SCREEN THE FILM TO SEE WHY THIS WAS SO UNCLEAR TO ME IN THE FILM. I HAVE MODIFIED IT FROM THE ORIGINAL UNTIL I DO SO.

The film was written, and directed, by Mr. Estevez in tribute to his son, named Daniel in the film, and whom he plays in flashbacks. His death necessitated his father, named Tom in the film, played by Martin Sheen, traveling to France in order to collect his son's remains. Mr. Sheen was Daniel's real grandfather. Along the way he remembers the conversations he had with his son about taking this journey, and on a whim he decides to take the trip.

The Camino de Santiago crosses the Pyrenees from France to Spain, ending at the Cathedral. Tom decides to take this journey partly in tribute to his son, as well as a way to come to terms with his death. He is hoping to find the meaning of his son's death, but soon begins looking for the meaning behind his own life.

Tom, a widower, had not been especially close to his son in the last few years of his too short life. The last contact he had with Daniel took the form of a phone call in which Daniel describes the journey he is about to embark upon. The next call Tom receives is from the French authorities. His son is dead and now he must go to France to claim the remains, which in this case are ashes.

When he begins the trip he starts to experience flashbacks of the father-son conflicts they had been through. Daniel has repeatedly asked that his father not "judge" him. In reality, Tom doesn't want to judge him at all; merely understand him. Arriving in France he meets a French policeman, played by Tcheky Karyo, who explains the history, and meaning, of the journey his son was taking. This serves to propel Tom on the path that his son was walking at the time of his death. He also plans to scatter his son's ashes at various places along the way.

There are three major characters whom Tom meets, and befriends, along the way. There is the obese Dutch party guy, played by Yorick van Wageningen; an Irish braggart suffering from writer’s block, played by James Nesbitt; and finally the chain-smoking Canadian woman, played by Deborah Kara Unger, who never learned how to be civil. Tom is stuck with this group as he struggles to keep his reasons for the hike to himself.

But as the group make their way across the mountains defenses break down, as each of the group comes to realize that life is not so much about changing the things you don't like about yourself. Sometimes it's more about accepting who you really are, and then moving on, content with that knowledge.

Some reviewers have likened the movie to both "The Canterbury Tales", as well as "The Wizard of Oz", both of which Estevez has called inspirations for the film.

For more about the making of this extraordinary film, including the parallels to "The Wizard of Oz", read the interview with Mr. Estevez at;

http://www.avclub.com/articles/martin-sheen-emilio-estevez,62918/

Finding "Oz" Where You'd Least Expect It.

By 1900, L. Frank Baum, a pro-communist and former proponent of the Free Silver Movement; a failed general store owner and former publisher of the Aberdeen Saturday Post, a local newspaper in South Dakota; had returned back East, settling in Chicago. It was there that he continued writing, landing a job with the Evening Post.

It was at this time that he also began writing children's books, his most famous being, of course, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", which was first published in 1900. It was the first in a series of books about a land called Oz, similar to the Harry Potter novels which would appear about 100 years later.

Twice in this past week that first book has been referenced in either a movie, or book, which I have reviewed here. The first time was in connection to the independent film "The Way", with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, and then again by author Matthew Algeo in his book about Grover Cleveland, "The President Is a Sick Man." This gave me pause for thought. How could one children's book, written over 100 years ago, still be relevant today, either in an inspirational film, or in a book about history?

In the film, "The Way", with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, the director, Mr. Estevez, has cited "The Wizard of Oz" as an inspiration for his film. In the book "The President Is A Sick Man", author Matthew Algeo cites the book as an allegorical tale of the Free Silver Movement. Indeed, in that book, Dorothy is wearing silver slippers, in lieu of ruby ones, as she trods down the Yellow Brick Road. The slippers were supposed to be representative of the working man, Free Silver adherents for the most part, being forced to walk down a road made of Gold, representing the interests of the bankers, and surrounded at all times by peril. How is it possible for the same book to yield so many different points of view?

The answer lies in interpretations, and, as we all know, any interpretations are themselves open to interpretation. Which brings to mind The Beatles and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", from the album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Long associated with LSD, the truth behind that song is so innocent, and well documented, as to give credence to what I call literary coincidences, or imaginative interpretations.

In the case of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", John Lennon's son Julian came home with a simple drawing he'd done that day. He was about 6 at the time, and when his dad asked him what it was, he said it was "Lucy, a classmate, in the sky with diamonds." That story has been checked, and verified, over the past 40 odd years, culminating in a benefit concert for the "real" Lucy about a year ago to help pay some medical expenses. So much for interpretations. But, in the context of the times in which it was written, the misinterpretation can be understood.

The same can be said of the analogy between the film "The Way" and "The Wizard." They are, after all, on a journey of discovery, just as Dorothy and her companions were. They are both spiritual journeys.

When it comes to the interpretation offered in the book “The President Is a Sick Man” by Mr. Algeo, it too, is no less valid in the context of the time in which it was written. There really was a struggle between the working class and the wealthy, where the gold standard was concerned. It was keeping the rich richer, and the poor poorer. And, just as Dorothy's dissatisfaction lead to her dilemma, the Free Silver adherents were actually causing massive inflation, furthering their own travails.

There are no hidden meanings to this post, just me being a bit introspective. It fascinates me to no end how the human mind, my own included, can interpret things in just about any way it feels. I'm not knocking it either. I'm one of the guilty ones. I'm always looking for the deeper meaning. Even when it's not there.

I once reviewed the film version of "The Wizard of Oz", casting the Wizard as an allegory for Adolph Hitler. He was, after all, hiding behind a curtain, so to speak, as he imposed his will on the people, much like the venerated Wizard. I wrote that review in Juinor High School, and received a grade of 95.

For more on the links between the film "The Way" and "The Wizard of Oz', see the interview with Emilio Estevez here;

http://www.avclub.com/articles/martin-sheen-emilio-estevez,62918/

"The Way" with Martin Sheen

THIS POST HAS NOT BEEN REMOVED. IT HAS BEEN AMENDED AND NOW APPEARS ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2019.