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Cast: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Mark Strong
After narrowly escaping from a wretched World War II Siberian labor camp, a small band of multinational soldiers desperately undertakes a harrowing journey to traverse Siberia, the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas on foot. Directed by Peter Weir, this exciting drama about courage and endurance -- based on a true story.
I was really looking forward to sitting now to watch this, the story and cast really had me interested. The story of The Way Back comes from a book The Long Walk by Slawomir Rawicz In The Long Walk (1956) Rawicz describes being arrested, tortured and sent to a Siberian prison camp, after the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. He escapes with a group of other polish prisoners and walks south, across Mongolia, the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, meeting a Polish girl on the way. In the mountains, Rawicz sees two mysterious figures, which he states are yeti. The girl and three of the men die en route, but four of them make it to the safety of British India. The Long Walk has sold more than half a million copies and been translated into 25 languages. Rawicz died in the UK in 2004. This is an amazing account of very disparate characters who were united in one goal, to escape from a Siberian gulag during the days leading up to WWII and to reach India...a journey on foot of 4000 miles. The elements they would face wasn't kind at all which makes the story that much more incredible. I cannot imagine going through what this group did but I suppose when faced with adversity you can do almost anything. The film even though a character piece isn't overly heavy on dialogue, it relies more on what the characters do and their surroundings to tell the tale. Not only is this a remarkable story of courage that is full of inspiration but the filmmakers have also got together an amazing cast to play these very brave characters. The cast includes, Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong, Gustaf Skarsgård and Ed Harris who gives a moving performance as a bitter loner who doesn't trust anyone and who is harboring many secrets. The production is brilliant, "The Way Back" is Gorgeously filmed and the Peter Weir direction is flawless. The story is slow moving so if you're expecting an action packed adventure here I suggest you look elsewhere but if you like dramas that are inspired by true events then I highly recommend picking this up.
"The Way Back" isn't only one of the best films of 2010 but it is a highly underrated film as well mainly because of it's limited theatrical run which kept many people from seeing it which is a shame because I am sure this looked amazing on the big screen. Gorgeous scenery, excellent writing and a cast to die for makes this a film that stays with you long after it is over, I can't recommend this film enough. The Blu-ray and DVD both come with Special Features that include
Trailer
Behind-The-Scenes Featurette
You can order the DVD HERE and the Blu-ray HERE.
Released by Iamge Entertainment
***** Out Of *****