Mein Weg - 780 km zu mir

The beginning of the movie really made me feel it wasn't a good movie so I didn't want to watch but I actually held on to it. And it turned out to be a brilliant movie. Blimey, it's an underrated movie. So Bill wants to walk almost 800kms to Camino. What is his journey like? He gets to know different people from different countries, he gets to know why people choose to walk 800 kms to Camino. They sometimes live under the same roof, drinking together , getting to know each other, and exchanging ideas or life experiences. It's also a journey of cultural refreshments. In addition to this, for Bill and other walkers, the journey strengthens their mental and physical conditions, and helps them overcome different challenges/difficulties. That's sth that a journey is all about. Getting to your destination is not the point, enjoying what your journey has to offer, you don't give up easily, is the point. For Bill, he has seen a lot of places, he has met a lot of different "pilgrims", he enjoys the journey, but most importantly, it's a path to his own redemption.

I wanted to watch this film because my teenage son was thinking of doing a gap year and maybe walking the Camino?

To start with I did not even realise it was an Australian film and was impressed that it was (while still having a great international flavour).

I watched the film again because I liked it. The cinematography is spectacular and the scenery is beautiful. I am so impressed that most of the "actors" were the the real people who walked the track and did not even speak English as a first language!

The film tackles serious issues too such as dealing with grief, guilt, forgiveness, suicide, marital conflict and childhood sexual assault in a way that allows people to speak for themselves.

I had seen this advertised for a while on Netflix and kept thinking this was not for me at all.

However once watching I discovered how much in common I had with the main character Bill, even though he is 30 years older than me. Flawed, stubborn and yet trying to find some purpose on his journey. I like when characters are not perfect. Because who really is?

I laughed several times out loud and I really enjoyed the scenery and learning a little about a trek I knew nothing about. It's a great advert for the region if nothing else.

Granted, this is not for everyone. But I loved the down to earth, simple and believable aspects of it.

This film is obviously divisive.

There are those who complain it didn't show the scenery, or had bad acting, or unlikeable lead. It's unfortunate none of those things is what the film was about. It could have focused on the scenery, showing every beautiful vista or building along the way. It could have used all actors rather than some actual pilgrims and real people along the way. It could have had a very likeable person as lead. And the movie would have failed its objective.

The reason the movie has an unlikeable lead is because that's who he was - a self-absorbed, arrogant, difficult person (did you miss one of the last scenes with him on the phone to his wife?).

The story focused almost exclusively on his character, and how he 'grew'. And I believe it did a pretty good job of that, even down to him questioning if he was ready to complete the journey when he was within spitting distance of the end.

He basically had an epiphany towards the end - thus meeting the objective of growth.

There were some parts that could have been done better. But overall a good movie.

Yes, fundamentally, this is "just" a movie about a cranky older guy going on a (very challenging) walk to resolve his later-life crisis. And yet, he (for this effectively an autobiographical film) manages to make it funny throughout.

This is the story about overcoming the odds where the odds are that way FOR A REASON - everyone else treats him as crazy for attempting this at his age and with only about a year of preparation - and he effectively concedes they are right, but pushes on anyway. What could have easily been frustrating becomes amusing thanks to just enough ironic distance. Furthermore, the personal narratives of the (mostly) "true pilgrims" on the trail provide the requisite grounding and the right kind of contrast to the protagonist - practically the only one not to have a religion-related reason for attempting the Camino.

In all, this is yet one more example of how a good film can be made with minimal budget and fuss. If you are an aspiring filmmaker starting from zero, this is most likely a better source of inspiration than just about everything else from 2024.