The Way Back
Rated PG-13
133 minutes
(2010) National Geographic Entertainment/Newmarket Films

The Way Back is a drama based on a written account by Slavomir Rawic. The movie details the escape of several men from a Siberian gulag during the Stalinist Russia of World War II. This band of men is led by Polish soldier, "Janusz", played by Jim Sturgess, who, upon arrival to the frozen tundra of Siberia, quickly decides it would be better to attempt an escape before his will and health are snuffed out in this brutal wasteland and its unmerciful prison system.

Supporting actor, Ed Harris, is a Russian sympathizer from America known only as "Mr. Smith". Accused of crimes against the state, convicted, and now languishing in prison, he bears the guilt of seeing his teenage son shot by the Stalinist leaders. Colin Farrell plays a despicable Russian criminal, "Valka", so entangled in the ways and works of the prison subculture that he doesn't know what to do with real freedom when it finally arrives.

"Janusz," "Mr. Smith," and "Valka," along with five other men, manage a midnight escape without being shot, tracked by dogs, or frozen by the blizzard that comes upon them, (except for one poor expendable character) only to find themselves facing a mammoth trek to the Russian/Mongolian border.

"Out of the frying pan into the fire" would be an appropriate yet ironic phrase to describe the road that lay before them, since even back at "Gulag, sweet, Gulag" food was a rarity, and now there is a huge dearth of real "frying" from this point on. At least not until they cross the desert, and you can practically hear their skin blister with the sun.

To those who see some cannibalistic foreshadowing in the details so far, rest easy, there is none. Which may or may not be a relief to you, but certainly was for me. Only Colin Farrell's seedy and unsavory character makes mention of it as a possibility, but he is politely rebuffed by Janusz, the leader. Once I realized the plot wasn't headed towards a Russian version of the Donner party, it became apparent that kindness and perseverance was the theme of this story. Most evident in the character of Jim Sturgess, but also slowly emerging in the others as they moved further away from their oppressors towards freedom.

The character's trek is expansive and uncharted, the terrain is beautiful and harsh, serene and uncaring. The setting is breathtaking and overwhelming in its untamed vastness, and the cinematography masters capturing it for the audience. I found myself in awe of the contrasting topography and engrossed in the changing faces of nature.

The straggling prisoners crossing over it were less compelling in their story and character development, although by no means a shabby job of acting. The cast did what they could with the minimal dialogue given to them. There was too much of the basic surviving- getting a scrap of food to eat, a few teaspoons of water to drink, trying not to freeze or fry to death, that developing the plot or characters just wasn't part of the bigger picture.


Even the young girl, Irina, who joins up with the six escapees further into the journey barely raises the needle of the drama meter for the rest of the story. Clear evidence of a worn and plodding storyline considering the potential changes a new character, female to boot, could bring to a group of men, fresh out of prison, having stared at each other's grimy, bearded faces for well over a month of travel.


The realistic portrayal of starvation, ravaging thirst, raggedness, weariness, scorched or snow-blasted skin and battling the elements is a credit to Peter Weir and his directorship. His ability to insert a standard "tastes like chicken" line in the middle of this deadly setting and pull it off without jarring the minimal dialogue and Slavic accents is even more amazing.

I actually liked the movie, would recommend it to anyone but children, and give the film an

A.

I would just make it known that the reasons for liking it are a-typical of a movie goer's experience. It has more to do with the vast and beautifully filmed scope of the story than the nitty-gritty details of the people in it.