Faith on film at Toronto

This week the Toronto International Film Festival gets going (September 9). There are a few films premiering at the fest that I’m excited to see (when they’re in theaters in Chicago, that is): Everything Must Go, an adaptation of the Raymond Carver short story starring a more serious Will Ferrell, Darren Aronofsky’s ballet thriller (!) Black Swan, and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip, starting one of my favorite actors, Steve Coogan, to name just a few.

Notable Catholic activist Martin Sheen stars in another film premiering this week. It’s called The Way and it’s about the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, or the Way of St. James, a spiritual pilgrimage in Spain. Sheen’s son, Emilio Estevez directed the film, and although the film takes place in Spain, he said it’s about American spirituality.

According to CNS,

Estevez's characters in "The Way" are also wondering about meaning in their lives.

"None of these characters is in any way perfect. In fact they're all flawed, broken and not particularly attractive. They're difficult to be around — for each other anyway," he said. "Ultimately, what they discover is that it is a community, a global community, and they are emblematic of that. And we can't do it alone. We can't walk this earth by ourselves. We need community. We need faith. We ultimately need each other."

Walking inevitably becomes a theme in a movie about a pilgrimage."Isn't it our first instinct?" asked Estevez. "When we're babies it's the only thing we want to do — to get on our two feet and move forward."

 

About the author

Meghan Murphy-Gill

Meghan Murphy-Gill is a writer living in Chicago. Read more from her at meghanmurphygill.com.