Following the death of his son Daniel in the Pyrenees during a storm on the Camino de Santiago, American ophthalmologist Dr. Thomas Avery (Martin Sheen) travels to France. Flashbacks reveal that Thomas and Daniel had a difficult relationship – something Thomas attributes to the loss of his mother. Daniel journeyed to Europe despite his father’s reservations ("We agreed that if I took you to the airport, you wouldn't lecture me about how I'm ruining my life"), and previously informed Thomas he would not be completing his doctorate ("Margaret Mead didn't become a great cultural anthropologist by staying in school"). Emilio Estévez portrays Daniel; however, at 48 years old when the film was released, he appeared older than the character’s age. This gave him more of a ‘midlife crisis’ feel rather than that of a teenager. While I find it convincing that Sheen, who was 69 at the time, could play a man in his sixties, Estévez's portrayal comes across as that of someone struggling with arrested development, even though he seems to be attempting to portray a character nine years younger – which would put him around 40. Regardless of Margaret Mead’s path to becoming "a great cultural anthropologist," the truth is she had already published Coming of Age in Samoa and Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies by age 35, both significant works in her field. Daniel didn't even finish his doctorate, nor did he complete the Camino de Santiago; he barely began it, dying "only one day into the trek." Overall, Daniel was something of a disappointment; Estévez should have asked his brother Charlie to play the part instead.

Source on TMDB