Películas de carretera jacobeas: el caso de El camino de Emilio Estevez [Pilgrimage Road Movies across the Pyrenees: the Case of Emilio Estévez’s The Way]

Abstract

This article aims to explore the filmic representation of the Western Pyrenees as a bordercrossing setting in contemporary road cinema, a transnational film genre par excellence. The aim is to examine pilgrimage films along Saint James’s Way as a special case of atypical road movies set in Spain. After a summary of the history of jacobean filmic representation along one century and an analysis of its success and recurrent themes, this article focuses on Emilio Estévez’s The Way, 2010. Its generic analysis shows that it both follows but also remarkably deviates from staple road movie conventions, like its exaltation of family values and its depiction of an old American protagonist travelling on foot in a fast, youth-oriented genre.