"The Way Back"

Directed by Peter Weir, starring Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Jim Sturges, and Saoirse Ronan, this is a wonderfully told story of survival, courage, character, and friendship. Some claim it's true, I don't care if it is or not. Against all odds, a small group of prisoners escape from a Siberian Gulag and walk 4000 (yes, four thousand) miles to reach India and safety. Not all of them make it. Some are political prisoners, some have been accused of being spies. Some have been "turned in" by relatives for criticising the Communist regime (those relatives probably having been tortured to get them to talk. One American, others Polish, Russian, and another country (I've forgotten which), they start off suspicious of each other, but through the exhausting trek and the hardships they share, they develop the kind of friendships that only such an experience of mutual dependency can forge. Marvelous Photography is spectacular. Absolutely splendid acting by everyone in the film. Of course I'm more familiar with Ed Harris and he is amazing in his role as "Mister" (the only first name he answers to) Smith. Colin Farrell remarkable as well. And Saoirse Ronan (good grief, such an unfamiliar name to spell, much less pronounce) holds her own admirably with these pros in a wonderful performance as a runaway girl who joins their group. Trudging through miles and miles and miles (meters) of snow, blizzards, then heat and desert clime, and crossing the Himalayas all on foot, nearly starving, nearly dying of dehydration, you can imagine this requires stamina just to watch. It may not be for everyone; I loved it! FOUR STARS for sure.