"The Way," the moving drama starring real-life father and son, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, is the next featured film at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House. It will be screened on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Opera House Cinema Series.
Directed by Estevez, "The Way" is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever-changing and complicated world. Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France, to collect the remains of his adult son (Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey.
What Tom doesn't plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his "California Bubble Life."
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Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On The Way, Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own issues looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman, a Canadian and an Irish writer, who is suffering from a bout of writer's block.
From the unexpected, and often amusing, experiences along The Way, this unlikely quartet of misfits creates an everlasting bond and Tom begins to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world again. Through Tom's unresolved relationship with his son, he discovers the difference between "the life we live and the life we choose."
Ann Hornaday, in USA Today, calls the film "a sensuous, expansive hymn to travel and transformation." Peter Travers, in Rolling Stone, calls it "a uniquely memorable experience." Roger Ebert, in the Chicago Sun Times, says the film "is a sweet and sincere family pilgrimage.
Audiences seeking uplift will find it here." Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, drug use and smoking, "The Way" runs 115 minutes.
Tickets to the Opera House Cinema Series are available at the door for $7 (adults), $6.50 (seniors & Opera House members) and $5 (students & children) the night of each screening. For more information, call the Opera House Box Office at 716-679-1891. The Series continues with "J. Edgar" on Jan. 14 & 17; and "Anonymous" on Jan. 21 & 24.
Chautauqua County's only performing arts center presenting its own programming year-round, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
