And Then There Were Three

 Stunning photography enhances straightforward story
by Morgan P Salvo

The Way Back is a grueling, stunningly photographed story of a group of prisoners who escape a Siberian gulag and walk…yes that’s right, walk, 4000 miles through five hostile countries to freedom in India. This sometimes riveting film is grand scale entertainment though disconcerting by the tediousness of the trek. Six-time Oscar nominated Director Peter Weir (Truman Show, Dead Poets Society) returns to the screen after a seven year absence with an epic yet by-the-numbers film adaptation of Slavomir Rawicz's novel, The Long Walk: the True Story of a Trek to Freedom. The veracity of Rawicz’s story has been challenged, so Weir and co-writer Keith Clarke try to address the authenticity by giving us the straight story.
Beginning in 1940 with a decent interrogation scene we are thrust into serious prison life. Way Back’s not the ilk of The Great Escape, Stalag 17 or Midnight Express, all of which focused on the inmate’s tribulations. The time spent in the prison is short lived and escape comes quick. This has an indie budget Lawrence of Arabia feel, wherein the journey takes them from snow to burning desert to snow again. I wished more time was spent setting up the characters in the prison, but this movie is not about the prison, it’s about the debilitating trek. Each character has an on-the-journey monologue for back-story. Throughout the scenic drudgery these men’s will to live forces them onward, battling sandstorms, mirages, snakes and mosquitoes. They are in perpetual motion, with very little dialogue, drama or conflict between them. Some parts were hard to swallow, like these guys can go all caveman eating raw meat off the bone but become gentleman when a young waif (Saoirse Ronan from Lovely Bones) appears. Even the mad killer (Colin Farrell) with no morals whatsoever plays nice.

Jim Sturgess’ protagonist Janusz is wily throughout. Farrell energizes the film stealing every scene he's in as the silver-toothed, tattooed, violent and cagey Valka. If you’re looking for the Ed Harris role of a lifetime forget it. Harris who always embodies his roles has little to do here except to suffer, be gruff and sensitive. The real star is cinematographer Russell Boyd, whose panoramic shots capture the cool locations, stunning vistas and ever changing environments beautifully. Every character departs either by death or just by a different path with no grandiose Hollywood mainstream flair. Filled with scenes of extraordinary survival challenges the result is oddly impersonal and indifferent. Summing up with a history lesson depicting Poland’s 1989 freedom from communism and a page from Saving Private Ryan, Way Back is slow-paced and unbelievably boring in an “artistic choice” kind of way.
The Way Back
Starring Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan, Marc Strong
Directed by Peter Weir
2 ½ stars