our readers react to the film “Compostelle”

Françoise, 61 years old, reader for 30 years, farmer and manager of a guest house

“I laughed a lot and I cried a lot throughout the screening of this film. Nearly 24,000 people depart each year for Santiago de Compostela from Puy-en-Velay. The journey is experienced in every home, which is why this film touched us. It is very faithful to the spirit of the walkers: a clever mixture of joy, beauty, simplicity and hope. It’s a very respectful film towards religion. The scene of the Ave Maria slammed during the passage of the characters in a monastery in Spain touched me a lot because it shows a reality: young or old, certain walkers are in search of meaning and, sometimes, spirituality.

Jean-Nicolas, 63 years old, pre-retired, reader for 30 years and co-manager of a guesthouse in Puy-en-Velay

Even if the young man has a very annoying side – he is aggressive and resistant to authority – I was very touched by this fiction. It reflects the spirit of solidarity that exists between the walkers who set out on their way to Compostela. Sometimes, some come back through our town and talk about their time in Conques, an important step, highlighted in the film. The scene that struck me the most? That of diving into the river, evocative of baptism.

Gaby, 84 years old, retired storekeeper and Irène, 81 years old, school canteen attendant, now retired

I found this film both moving and amusing. I really appreciated the views filmed by drone: flying over these wide open spaces with a bird’s eye view is beautiful! And when we see the walkers setting off on the path from the Puy-en-Velay cathedral towards Cahors, it’s magical. But above all, this story made me want to take my hat off to those accompanying young delinquents during the break-up marches.

Jérôme, 59 years old, hotelier, subscriber for 20 years

At the beginning of the film, the scenes of violence featuring young urban people with very crude vocabulary bothered me a little. Even though I know well that the themes of violence, addictions, lack of reference points and family ties to reinvent reflect the concerns of our society. Fortunately, over the course of the sequences, the character of young Adam softens.

In the character of Alexandra Lamy, I found the profile of many of the walkers that I meet at Le Puy and who set off towards the paths of Stevenson, Saint-Régis or Compostelle. Even if I found the characters of the priest from Puy-en-Velay and the young Catholic girl from Conques a little stereotypical, there is no denigration of the Catholic religion. The film gives a respectful and authentic image of the Christian tradition.

Jean-Paul, 76 years old, retired from Catholic Education in Poitiers

Here we set off through invigorating undergrowth or along stony white paths flooded with sunlight, in the company of two beings who, gradually, will reveal their inner strength. She, Fred, (Alexandra Lamy) a teacher, on professional break for having slapped a student, on marital and family breakdown – her daughter leaves her for her studies – He, Adam, (Julien Le Berre), a battered life, teenager placed in an ASE home that he cannot stand, and suffering from maternal absence, is in total societal rupture. This duo, of shocks but also of complicity, will lead us, through multiple and complementary situations, into a sort of universalized inner journey.

This feature film by Yann Samuell can only grip you and remind everyone of their role as educator, as guide, which they are required to play in sometimes delicate situations. A film imbued with deep humanity that cannot leave anyone indifferent and which tends to prove that “in every pile of dung, there can be a diamond that shines for eternity”. Compostela, 2000 kilometers of internalized spiritual adventure!