Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago

The Camino, otherwise known as 'The Way of St. James', is an 80km spiritual trek from southern France to Santiago in north-west Spain. Lydia Smith's film, brought together the many characters that embark on such a journey. 

Particular favourites of mine were Tomas and his two new travelling partners, whose relationship reminded me a little of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Che Guevarra) and his biking cohort Alberto Granado. They are undoubtedly kind people but making fun of one another gets them through the hard times with more than a few laughs and it's nice to watch.

I also quite loved the family and the eventual couple of Misa and William. It showed our need for companionship, even if we did not set out with that as an aim. It was lovely to watch the story unfold. Even better that the other contributors interacted with this. It made it more communal. They all met one another, there should have been more of that I think.

There are others who perhaps aren't so likeable, Brazilian blonde Sam seems a little too quick to judge for a spiritual path and although the walk may change her, I don't think it achieved much more than a sarcastic jibe at her German neighbour and maybe a more open response to her fear of the future. Although her story of leaving everything behind in Rio is one of extreme faith in the Camino, I don't think it really added to the film.

I won't sit and describe all of the characters as I could be here all day. Perhaps we could have lost a few. For example, Jack & Wayne, although they reflect the diversity of age on the Camino, they didn't really bring much to the table. Nor did our Brazilian friend. I think with a little more time to follow the more entertaining contributors, the film could be made better. We might also have more of an emotional response when see their journey completed.

It is a charming look at the colourful characters that we encounter throughout our lives. It does also, restore a little faith in the viewer as well as the contributors, that the world isn't all that bad. For example, the German man who carried Annie's rucksack for the miles that she could not. The film captures the generosity of humanity and for that reason, is a little hard to dislike. There are some great examples of landscape cinematography and I would love to see a behind the scenes reel of how exactly the crew followed the contributors on their journey. It invokes a spirit within you for peace, for time alone, to find yourself. Something that at the moment, is extremely relevant to me. The film, could be better I think but that is not to say it is bad. I enjoyed the film and think I too could find peace in such an undertaking.

To find out more about the film, head to: http://caminodocumentary.org/ where there is loads of info about the making of the film and also where you can go to purchase the DVD when it's made available. If you're an escapist, I'd recommend it.