Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago
| 27 February 2013 (USA)
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago Trailers

'A Walk to Within: The Camino de Santiago' tells the story of walking the ancient 500-mile pilgrimage across norther Spain known as 'The Camino de Santiago'. The documentary follows six strangers from incredibly diverse walks of life as they attempt to cross an entire country on foot with only a backpack, a pair of boots, and an open mind. Each pilgrim throws themselves heart-and-soul into their physical trek to Santiago de Compostela, and their personal journey to themselves. As you watch, you will learn the rich history of this honored tradition, as well as witness the Camino's remarkable ability to change lives and provide those who choose to walk its paths with a greater sense of self and spiritual knowledge.

Reviews
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
manders_steve This film traces the progress and feelings of a dozen or so people trekking the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St James, to the believed remains of one of Jesus' 12 disciples at the Santiago cathedral. This is an ancient Christian pilgrimage stretching back it seems to at least AD 850. While there are many starting points and routes to Santiago, this film follows people from a range of nationalities, backgrounds, ages and abilities who commence at St Jean Pied de Port in south eastern France, some 800 km from Santiago in north western Spain. We see stunning countryside, intimate moments from those who are suffering, recovering and jubilating from their efforts. The volunteer hostelliers, priests and others they meet along the way enhance the context. The photography makes the film – it is brilliant and without this, the film probably would not have worked. The editing makes the viewer feel the transitions the walkers are experiencing, and must have been a challenge to select the succession of snippets that provide a cohesive narrative. The coda to Finisterre was a masterstroke and ended a well constructed documentary, recommending a high many pilgrims on the route may have overlooked.
Tim Johnson My wife and I have driven the Camino back in '93 but I could not walk it so this comment may be skewered a great deal; however, we did start it in Paris and drove as close to the real Camino as we could. I honestly did not want to give it a low vote because both Diane and I expected more from the film. I have often criticised reviewers for saying what I just said,"...expected..." because a viewer does not have the right to believe that a film should follow their cinematic desires. We did not think that the script picked the right people to follow on their journey. We also believed that the ones they did follow were cut off too quickly; those stories were the most interesting and we never heard of what happened to the people again. The camera work was very good, however, and the scenes photographed for the film were superb. However, because it was a documentary we believed that there could be more pedantic information about prices, foods eaten and places taken for sleep if the Camino establishments were full. A film for the thoughtful though.
David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. There aren't many traditions that span more than 1200 years, and only one of those involves walking 500 miles … the Camino de Santiago. Its origin is as a religious trek to Santiago de Compostela where tradition holds that the magnificent cathedral contains the remains of St. James the Apostle. These days, the Camino is no longer limited to those with Christian beliefs, and in fact many modern day pilgrims take it on as a personal quest rather than a spiritual journey.Director Lydia B Smith and her camera allow us to travel along with a group of (six) pilgrims, each with their own story, background and motivation. The journey involves both physical and emotional challenges, and results in varying degrees of self-awareness. One obvious difference in today's pilgrims versus those of medieval times is the experience is much more communal these days. Not only do the walkers eat and sleep in the same hostels along the route, they also freely share their emotions and thoughts with each other (and the camera). This contrasts greatly with the tradition of solitude and quiet introspection. Call it a lesson in generational differences.The elements rotate between favorable and challenging. The pilgrims must face cold, hot, rain, and wind. These obstacles of nature are magnified with foot blisters, sore knees and other bodily ailments. However, for most of these people, the mental challenge is every bit as steep. For 6 plus hours each day over approximately 35 days, they focus on the incredible scenery as well as their own thoughts. It's impossible to hide from one's self, even though friendship … and even relationships … form along the path.Each of those who complete the journey realizes it's not about the destination, but rather the inspiration and spiritual enlightenment – even if it wasn't their original goal. There is talk about the "internal Camino" and how you walk with your heart. Reflection on this spectacular path leads to harmony with nature and self. A lovely Spanish guitar accompanies our viewing pleasure, and it's impossible not to imagine ourselves on this journey. If inspiration strikes, just be aware that spending that much time with one's self is an activity far removed from our generation's typical day.
davidmcdevitt This film is AWESOME in so many ways. For those that have walked the Camino, this is a fantastic film for reminiscing and inspiring a second Camino. For those that are considering the Camino for an adventure of a lifetime, this is an absolute rendition of what walking the Camino is like. Yet, each person experiences their own camino; Prospective Camino walkers will experience their own Camino too! And for everyone, those that walked, those that aspire to walk, and those merely curious, the film touches every range of emotion, fear, tear, excitement, and laughter, and captures the spirit of walking the Camino! More info about the Camino (and the various routes for walking) is available at americanpilgrims.com or APOC. Buen Camino
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