I came across the story of a teenager being considered for sainthood in Madrid, a process which began 20 years ago, in a book I was reading that gave a detailed account of her illness but, in fact, focused on the courage of this girl and her family in the face of suffering and death. That started everything off, because that tale sparked my curiosity and the need to find answers to things I was unable to understand: What does "to offer" suffering mean? How can one accept that grief and despair are a signal of God's love? How can one die contentedly at the age of fourteen? How would I behave under similar circumstances?
In my search for answers to these questions, I came upon the story of Montse Grases, another adolescent who, from her deathbed, asked to be admitted to the Opus Dei; the case of Bernadette Soubirous, the clairvoyant of Lourdes who did not wish to cure her own blindness; the story of the shepherd children Lucía, Francisco and Jacinta, to whom the Virgin told her secrets in confession; the story of Mari Carmen García Valerio, the little girl who "gave herself to God"; the life of Saint Therese of Lisieux, and many others who felt privileged through their suffering because they saw in it a quality of beauty. All these characters, however, have in turn led me to discover other stories, much closer to home, which have allowed me to recreate faithfully and with great precision the medium in the midst of which all this takes on a special meaning: the Opus Dei.
The testimony and experience of the large number of people who belong or have belonged to this congregation have made it possible for me to investigate probe in this closed and obscure world, known officially as "personal prelature". I have not sought to discover members´ data, behaviour or even beliefs. I have researched exclusively the background to the feelings of these people, driven by the fact that every one of them, in his or her own way, is on a quest for the same thing: happiness. And aren't we all?.
Camino is meant to be a story told from an objective angle, free from prejudiced or stereotyped mindsets. A film which regards reality with a generous gaze, without judging it. Rather like an x-ray image. And this is precisely the reason for this film's bold, closely focused and severe quality.
Javier Fesser
September 2008
