Review: ‘Walking the Camino’ an eloquent trek to Spanish shrine of St. James
The centuries-old Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in northwestern Spain, continues to draw thousands to its well-traveled routes. As a priest notes in the documentary “Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago,” some begin as tourists and end up as pilgrims.
Among the half-dozen trekkers profiled in Lydia B. Smith’s mild, talky film, one is a devout Christian, the others adventurers on a more general spiritual mission. They endure physical and mental setbacks, break through to new perceptions, lighten their loads (literally and figuratively) and describe what they learn along the way. The result is a travelogue with self-help bromides, or an Esalen workshop with blisters.
With glancing nods to the Camino’s medieval roots (purification, penance), the doc paints a mostly inviting picture of a potentially life-changing walk through beautiful country and ancient villages. The sense of place is vivid, the internal struggle less so — explained rather than felt. To penetrate beyond the camaraderie and capture the depth of the experience would require less conventional filmmaking. (A similar problem befell Emilio Estevez’s fictional look at modern-day peregrinos, “The Way.”)
The most eloquent of Smith’s subjects are two older men from Canada, a widower and his friend whose quiet observations are genial and wise. It might be a matter of age, temperament or nationality — or all three — but they speak of the 500-mile undertaking with openhearted self-awareness rather than the self-absorption that grips some of the other interviewees, to tiresome effect.
“Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago.”
No MPAA rating.
Running time: 1 hours, 24 minutes.
Playing: Laemmle’s Royal, West Los Angeles.
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