An American, A dutchman and an Irishman walk into a bar...It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke but it's the middle of a mediocre movie that could have (should have!) been great.
Frankly I'm a little baffled by the glowing reviews and the "best movie ever" superlatives from some of the other users here. In the end this is an overlong, highly unoriginal movie with clumsy dialogue and clichéd characters.
The story of Martin Sheen walking the camino to complete his dead son's journey had all the potential to be great. Instead it stayed so far within its comfort zone it was a real bore.
A special mention goes to the clichéd characters: a dutchman who does drugs and parties (no way!) but has decided to walk the 800km to "lose weight" for a wedding. I'm sorry? There are far more effective ways to lose some weight; an Irish writer with writer's block whose every utterance made me cringe - particularly his opening monologue about writers. And a Canadian woman, who is angry at....what exactly? Throw in some clichéd, unbelievably friendly locals who react to our four pilgrims arrival in the various towns as if they're the first they've seen in months in spite of the fact that literally hundreds of people are doing this trek everyday. A particular shout-out goes to the Spanish gypsy in this respect.
I was also kind of surprised that Estevez's character, Daniel, is still yelled at by his Dad for not doing anything with his life even though he's nearly 40. Time to get over it I think.
I have some friends who did the last part of the Camino de Santiago and they said that you had to get to each town early to be sure of a bed that night - not like our 4 intrepid trekkers who can rock up whenever they want and have a choice of hostels! Also, they had sores and blisters on their feet after 2 days and they would be fairly fit guys. Sheen on the other hand, despite not being fit enough to walk around a golf course, hardly has to stop for a breath.
But OK, there is some poetic licence involved in movie-making.
The positives: The scenery is beautiful; Sheen is in standard Sheen mode, uptight and dignified; and there are a few genuinely funny and moving moments.
But every time something happens that makes you think "maybe this movie is alright" something happens that is completely unrealistic and condescending. The final scene was the nail in the coffin, so to speak, with all characters giving an only-in-the-movies one line sign off before leaving individually.
A real disappointment.
Frankly I'm a little baffled by the glowing reviews and the "best movie ever" superlatives from some of the other users here. In the end this is an overlong, highly unoriginal movie with clumsy dialogue and clichéd characters.
The story of Martin Sheen walking the camino to complete his dead son's journey had all the potential to be great. Instead it stayed so far within its comfort zone it was a real bore.
A special mention goes to the clichéd characters: a dutchman who does drugs and parties (no way!) but has decided to walk the 800km to "lose weight" for a wedding. I'm sorry? There are far more effective ways to lose some weight; an Irish writer with writer's block whose every utterance made me cringe - particularly his opening monologue about writers. And a Canadian woman, who is angry at....what exactly? Throw in some clichéd, unbelievably friendly locals who react to our four pilgrims arrival in the various towns as if they're the first they've seen in months in spite of the fact that literally hundreds of people are doing this trek everyday. A particular shout-out goes to the Spanish gypsy in this respect.
I was also kind of surprised that Estevez's character, Daniel, is still yelled at by his Dad for not doing anything with his life even though he's nearly 40. Time to get over it I think.
I have some friends who did the last part of the Camino de Santiago and they said that you had to get to each town early to be sure of a bed that night - not like our 4 intrepid trekkers who can rock up whenever they want and have a choice of hostels! Also, they had sores and blisters on their feet after 2 days and they would be fairly fit guys. Sheen on the other hand, despite not being fit enough to walk around a golf course, hardly has to stop for a breath.
But OK, there is some poetic licence involved in movie-making.
The positives: The scenery is beautiful; Sheen is in standard Sheen mode, uptight and dignified; and there are a few genuinely funny and moving moments.
But every time something happens that makes you think "maybe this movie is alright" something happens that is completely unrealistic and condescending. The final scene was the nail in the coffin, so to speak, with all characters giving an only-in-the-movies one line sign off before leaving individually.
A real disappointment.