Film & TV

The Way Back

Rating: MA 15+

Running time: 133 minutes

Release Date: 24 February 2011

A group of prisoners escape from a Siberian Gulag camp during World War II, walking 4000 miles overland to freedom in India.  Janusz (Jim Sturgess) leads the escape desperate to get back to his wife in Poland, who was forced into testifying against him.  On their way to freedom he is accompanied by an assorted bunch including American Mr Smith (Ed Harris) and Russian gangster Valka (Colin Farrell).  Later in their journey they are joined by youngster Irena (Saoirse Ronan) and her feminine presence brings a welcome dynamic to the group.  Directed by Peter Wier in which he also co-authored the screenplay with Keith Clarke which is based on a book called The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz.  There is some contention whether the novel is fictional and Polish POW, Rawicz’s supposed escapade was made up but luckily that doesn’t detract from the storytelling experience.

This is Academy Award nominated Wier’s first film in seven years and he successfully captures that sweeping epic feel, however it does drag over the two hours and 13 minutes.  Maybe because you know from the outset that four will survive that you can’t wait for the journey to unfold, confirming your predictions of who will still be alive.  The stunning cinematography from the harshest snow country to the oppressive heat of the Ghobi desert though magnificently shot to give the raw feeling of living vicariously through the characters at the mercy of the terrain.  But this isn’t enough to lift this film above average.  The characters need more depth and not even the introduction of the girl to the story and her use to reveal the men’s deeper layers, which though clever, fails fully ignite.  The acting is still good on all accounts particularly Jim Sturgess (21), Ed Harris (A Beautiful Mind) and in Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) who is outstanding and lifts this film from being mediocre.  Recommend seeing at the cinema for the stunning vistas which will be lost on the small screen.

3/5 stars

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