Sunday Best: Director 2011

BEST DIRECTOR

Emilio Estevez – The Way

photo by Tabercil

Emilio Estevez has actually been directing almost as long as he has been acting. And while a number of his earlier films have not been great (Wisdom), or silly fun (Men at Work), he tried to step into a more mature chapter with 2006's Bobby. But while that was an attempt at showcasing a large ensemble cast against a traumatic historical background, The Way is a deeply personal and surprisingly spiritual mediation on life. As the story follows Tom (Estevez's real life father Martin Sheen), a California eye doctor whose estranged son, Daniel (Estevez), dies while walking the El Camino de Santiago. For reasons he cannot quite understand himself, Tom decides to finish his son's camino. Along the way, he encounters the colorful countryside and even more colorful characters. Estevez makes the Camino itself a character, filming the Spanish/French countryside with such beauty and elegance that when the journey comes to an end, there is satisfaction and sadness: Satisfaction at completing the pilgrimage and sadness that the journey must end. Does not overplay the cathartic experience, but he trusts the visuals tell the story. And what a story it is.

RUNNERS UP

Brad Bird – Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol

David Yates – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2

John Levine – 50/50

Martin Scorsese – Hugo