7 Best Camino de Santiago Movies & Documentaries to Watch in 2024
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In this post, we’ll review the best Camino de Santiago movies you can watch from your living room!
From big-budget films to independent documentaries, these Camino de Santiago films are sure to inspire you while depicting the realities of the Camino experience.
After having walked the Camino de Santiago, I can’t find enough Camino movies!
You probably feel the same—so I’ve compiled a list of the best Camino movies and documentaries for you. Whether you’re looking for motivation, re-living your Camino adventures, or trying to plan a Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) yourself, there’s a movie for you.
Let’s get started with our 7 favorite Camino de Santiago movies and documentaries.
The Way
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The Way, starring Martin Sheen, is a movie depiction of a man who decided to walk the Camino de Santiago in honor of his deceased son. This accurate depiction of the Way of St. James gives viewers a look into what it’s really like to walk the Camino.
7 Best Camino de Santiago Movies
Get your tinto and tapas (Spanish red wine & snacks) ready for these uplifting and inspiring movies about the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage!
1. The Way (2010)
By far the most popular movie about the Camino de Santiago, The Way looks at the difference between “the life we live and the life we choose.”
It begins with a father (Martin Sheen) from California who ventures to France to collect the remains of his deceased son who suddenly died while hiking the Camino de Santiago.
Without any planning or training or consulting a packing list, the father decides to complete the pilgrimage to honor his son’s memory. Although inexperienced as a hiker, he soon discovers the journey on the Camino Frances is more than just physical.
Setting off from St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port, he meets many other hikers along the way in the search for life’s greater meaning and is forever changed.
Without a doubt, we highly recommend this Camino movie for depiction of the hostels and Camino Spirit alone.
2. I’ll Push You (2016)
I’ll Push You is a Camino de Santiago documentary featuring an intimate look at the friendship of a lifetime between two best friends.
Together, they set off for a 35-day journey through the hills and valleys (literally and figuratively) of the Camino. On the 2014 trek through Spain, they battle neurological disease and highlight the struggles of being in a wheelchair.
Depicting the meaning of friendship, vulnerability, and generosity, this Camino film is an inspiration for those who wish to walk the Camino but find it impossible to begin.
Not only has the documentary resonated with viewers for its take on friendship, but also those looking for a story of faith, hope, and love.
We also recommend reading the book I’ll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair.
3. Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago (2013)
Walking the Camino: 6 Ways to Santiago is a documentary film about six pilgrims’ responses to undertaking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.
Annie, Tomas, Misa, Jack, Tatiana, and Sam are all undergoing the daunting, yet enlightening, trek for different reasons. However, the experience results in a spiritual and perspective change for each of the 6 hikers.
Focusing on each hiker’s personal epiphanies, the filmmaker does a great job inspiring others to take the leap of faith to start walking the Way of Saint James, push their limits in the days to come, and change their outlooks on life.
Additionally, no matter the weather, the entire Camino film is beautifully photographed, ensuring you’ll be sufficiently inspired after viewing!
4. Camino de Santiago – A Spiritual Journey (2018)
Camino de Santiago – A Spiritual Journey is a documentary film featuring interviews with six different men who made the exciting pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago
The film depicts the journeys of the men while making fascinating historical references. For example, we learn about the Knights Templar, an organized Christian group who kept European travelers visiting sites in the Holy Land during medieval times safe, and it’s lasting legacy.
In the end, it’s a film about faith: in spirituality, in humanity, and in the impact of the adventure to Santiago de Compostela.
5. Camino Skies (2019)
Camino Skies is a documentary film about everyday people doing the extraordinary while facing grief.
Certainly, this film can be considered both inspirational and heartbreaking, so get your tissues ready! It showcases not only the mental capabilities to heal from loss but also the physical limitations due to crippling disease and old age.
In the Camino de Santiago film, we see a beautiful juxtaposition between personal irritability and unending camaraderie.
Keep in mind, the documentary is a budget film, so don’t expect exceptional landscapes and imagery. Rather, watch it for the story of several strangers over the course of their life-changing adventure.
Not an Amazon Prime member? Most of these Camino films are available on Amazon — if you’re not a member, you can get your 30-day free trial here.
6. Es Usted un Peregrino? (Are you a pilgrim?) (2013)
Es Usted un Peregrino? (Are you a Pilgrim? is a documentary about a determined man who embarked on the Camino pilgrimage alone at 71 years old.
While he was happy with his marriage and family, he felt there was something missing from his spiritual life. During his journey, he takes things at his own pace and meets other trekkers looking for life’s answers.
If you’ve been on the Camino, we’re sure you can relate to this!
In the end, his relationship with God and humanity is re-shaped. We recommend this film on the Camino to those who are looking for that missing piece to life and think the Way (as the Camino is called in English) might help them on life’s journey.
7. Footprints: The Path of Your Life (2016)
Different from many other documentaries which focus on the Camino Frances (the most popular route), Footprints: The Path of Your Life, showcases the journey of 10 Catholic young men on the Camino Norte. Expecting some epic scenery, the men instead discover the valuable lessons the trek can teach us: commitment, perseverance, helpfulness, and spirituality. Remember, in order to succeed you only need to get up one more time than you fall!
Since the pilgrimage film depicts the struggle of the rather Camino accurately — from the importance of choosing a good backpack, to sleeping bags, to inevitable blisters — we recommend checking this film out. Genuinely, their experience is applicable to anyone traveling through life or looking for answers, not just Camino pilgrims.
8. BONUS: 3 Caminos (2021)
In 2021, the television show, 3 Caminos debuted. The show highlights five people from diverse backgrounds who met while hiking the Camino de Santiago in 2000.
After their first Camino, the pilgrims return home to their lives. The show then goes on to depict the three stages of five lives: their 20s, 30s, and 40s.
Each of the five friends experience the various emotions of life like love, courage, loss, and despair on the way to finding purpose.
Although they made the first Camino for completely different reasons, their friendship evolves into undertaking two more Caminos together.
While you might not see as much Spanish scenery or Camino culture, this is a fun show as we all have one common question: What impact the Camino — and those we meet on it — will have on our lives forevermore?
Camino de Santiago Movies: FAQ
What movie is based on the Camino de Santiago?
There are several movies based on the Way of St. James. However, the most popular movie based on the Camino de Santiago is The Way, which stars Martin Sheen as a father who walks the Camino Frances in honor of his son who died before he could walk the trail.
Did Martin Sheen walk the Camino?
Martin Sheen walked a part of the Way in 1993, many years before filming the movie. He also walked various parts of the route while filming The Way in 2009.
Did Emilio Estevez walk the Camino de Santiago?
Emilio Estevez traveled the Camino via car and also walked various parts in preparation for filming The Way, in which he directed his father, Martin Sheen.
What famous people have walked the Camino?
Actress Shirley MacLaine famously walked the Camino de Santiago and chronicled her journey in her book. Pope John Paul II visited sections of the Camino two times. And Saint Francis walked the Camino way back in the 1200s!
Best Camino de Santiago Movies: Recap
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this binge-worthy list of movies, documentaries, and even a TV show, about the incredible journey of hiking the Camino de Santiago.
There is probably a Camino de Santiago book you’ll love after you watch all these films, too!
One last thing before we curl up to watch these pilgrimage movies…
¡Buen Camino!
More Camino de Santiago Inspiration
If you liked this list of Camino de Santiago movies and documentaries, you might like these posts:
- Top Camino de Santiago Podcasts
- Best Camino de Santiago Books to Inspire Your Way
- Motivational Camino de Santiago Quotes
- Should You Walk the Camino this Year?
- 10 Profound Lessons I Learned Walking the Camino
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