‘The Salt Path’ is a Trail Worth Walking

Watching The Salt Path so soon after seeing Jason Isaacs in The White Lotus, it’s hard not compare them and see a gaping chasm between the characters’ “holiday” experiences, and yet, a similar moral fate.

Key points:

In The White Lotus, Isaacs is a high-flying businessman indulging in the opulence of his wealth when dodgy dealings undo him.

In The Salt Path, Moth Winn (Jason Isaacs) and his wife Raynor (Gillain Anderson) lose their home and trek the English coastline to figure out what’s next.

Both are men stripped of everything, confronting what it means to be “without” and where wealth and identity are linked.

The Salt Path is based on the true story of the Winn’s who trekked over 1000km of rugged terrain with barely a tent and teapot to their name as they searched for restoration in nature.

Raynor’s book, The Salt Path popularised the trail – formally known as the South West Coast Path – with some 25,000 people walking it each day, bringing in roughly 9million people each year.

The Salt Path is based on the true story of the Winns’ 1000km trek, in search of restoration in nature.

On the trail the Winn’s realise they’re “homeless” and grapple with the label and what it requires of them. They’re pushed into positions of desperation, humility and raw human vulnerability.

There’s something so well worn in about the way Moth and Raynor relate that makes The Salt Path exquisitely tender.

There’s something so well worn in about the way Moth and Raynor relate that makes The Salt Path exquisitely tender.

Raynor is the centre of strength for the couple, and Gillian Anderson’s portrayal of her draws you into the heart of a woman trying to hold her husband through something she’s both angered by and trying to survive. Moth feels useless and like a drawback to his wife, wondering what he offers her if not provision.

The Winn’s and The White Lotus troupe face the same reality: they’re being ruined by the pursuit of things they didn’t need in the first place.

The Salt Path is a space to breath, and a beautiful invitation to choose contentment and discover your own resilience.

A want for “more”, for status, for power for security has exposed them. It plays out differently, but we find more than stuff, people need freedom.

That’s the real quest: to be liberated from believing we are what we have, and that possessions determine our value.

The Salt Path is a space to breath, and a beautiful invitation to choose contentment and discover your own resilience.

The Salt Path is in cinemas May 15.

Featured image: Promotional photos used with permission