The Way Back

The nonsensically edited first half, which doesn't let a single scene resonate, battles with the beautifully sprawling second half that pushes the limits of the widescreen camera to the limit. This takes points off Weir's film in the final rating despite the fact that he manages to introduce his characters using only a few words and make you like them without dramatizing the scene in any drastic way; he makes do with great actors, a few frostbite marks, and swollen lips from dryness. (13/10/2011)

This story sounds like it was made for the big screen. From a Siberian gulag, a group of prisoners of different nationalities decides to escape. They have hundreds, maybe thousands of miles of inhospitable landscape ahead of them. The icy Siberia, the inhospitable Gobi desert, the colossal peaks of the Himalayas. Ill-equipped, without proper food that would last longer, sick and weakened, they embark on an incredible journey. It is clear that not everyone will survive. In fact, right from the beginning, we know that only three will survive. As the introduction tells us, only three people crossed the mountains and reached freedom. Yes, the story is based on a true event. It is one of those powerful human dramas where an individual accomplished what no one else, who wasn't in such a desperate situation, would ever dare. Not under such conditions. It is magnificent in its smallness. However, Peter Weir (Truman Show or Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World) usually takes his time before making something new, but it is usually worth it. In this case, he didn't completely miss the mark, but I think that the journey of the suffering men and one girl could have been portrayed even more harshly, to convey to the viewer more of the impossibility of the whole pilgrimage, the fact that not everyone will make it, that they all know that someone among them will still die. Like this, there are stunning shots of amazing natural scenery, emotions are played with, but it could have been done in a less melodramatic way and even more humanly. It must be said that there isn't actually that much melodrama. There could have been a lot more. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/warrior-x-ms-1-sibir-5x-rychle-zbesile.html (25/02/2013)

Back from Siberia. Let’s go, they said. And so they walked and walked... However, Weir didn’t realize that without a good screenplay this wouldn’t gain much pace as a drama and that it probably just shuffle along. See, this is an unworthy substitute for Seven Years in Tibet and As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me (even more so since it’s made up, however Papillon showed that isn’t always necessarily bad). Otherwise, it’s too bad that those two adaptations escaped him (doubly so, because then they wouldn’t have been badly-made movies). And nobody knows how to draw you in like Peter Weir. It felt like I was tramping that interminable trail myself (meant in a good way), I felt what the characters felt at every moment, I was there. So from my point of view enjoyed and endured, and therefore it’s outstanding. (14/04/2011)

Director Peter Weir already has a few masterpieces under his belt, but in this case, I really didn't get this film. It's too shallow, and the dialogues are informative so that even an American viewer unfamiliar with Soviet history can follow the plot. Moreover, the characters are black and white, and it's no coincidence that the only truly well-rounded character is the classic Russian criminal played excellently by Colin Farrell, who exudes genuine emotions, animality, and charisma. Unfortunately, the script does not prescribe him a more significant role, and he completely disappears halfway through the film. This subject matter directly called for a series adaptation in six to eight-hour episodes because there simply isn't enough room in this format for the development of characters and the viewer's acceptance of them. Despite the long runtime, many things are rushed through, and the viewer mostly follows a group of refugees walking through the taiga, desert, or high mountains without witnessing the small but characteristic moments, conflicts, and decisions for the survival of the characters. For example, the escape from the gulag is rushed, and many scenes are highly improbable. Escapes from the camps, for understandable reasons, took place during the hot Siberian summer, not in snowy blizzards and at -40°C... Overall impression: 55%. Despite good intentions, watching The Way Back is at times as descriptive and hastily done in its dramatic aspect as the suffering of the refugees themselves. (18/04/2011)

Nothing but a few above-average scenes that touch the heart. Otherwise, this film is too polished and cinematic, which shouldn't be surprising considering it was directed by a film classic and a person who rarely goes against the tide. Peter Weir is undoubtedly a great director, but his conservative style didn’t resonate with me here. He knows how to set up a good game, with an attractive thematic approach and a stellar cast, but he didn't completely captivate me. Without the crazy Colin Farrell and the raw Ed Harris, The Way Back would be nothing more than an average adventure film, where everything is as it should be, and the plot can be essentially predicted. The dream sequences are completely out of place. What I want is either a gritty, uncompromising film, or something that I can philosophise to. Having both doesn't work. (04/06/2011)