The Way, My Way

The Camino de Santiago has been a path of pilgrimage for centuries (the first guide book is dated 1140 AD); the most popular route begins in France, and winds some 800 km through Spain and Portugal to the cathedral Santiago de Compostela. In recent times pilgrims have flocked from every corner of the world, representing all stripes of spirituality. One such is Bill, an obstreperous Australian filmmaker several decades beyond his prime, who’s determined to do the Camino with minimal prep, a dickey leg, and no firm idea of what he’s doing there. This is his story…

Not a documentary, but a serio-comic dramatic recreation of Bill Bennett’s memoir of the same name, The Way, My Way was shot with a small crew and with the actual pilgrims Bill had walked with ten years earlier playing themselves (actor Chris Haywood plays Bill). The result is a strange duck, but charming and authentic and true. The Camino, his way.

There’s something oddly refreshing about a well-paced film that seems to be in no hurry at all, extolling an appreciation for life’s simplest pleasures: walking, talking, imbibing.

Luke Buckmaster, The Guardian

A quiet, gentle, uplifting film.

Stephen Romei, The Australian