DVD Review: The Way Back

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Based on a true story..according to some.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Peter Weir's The Way Back in terms of the story being true or false. It was initially marketed as a true story, but then some came out and said it was exaggerated. Either way, The Way Back is an interesting gem that somehow fell under the radar.

It's 1941 and a group of POW's escape from a camp in Sibera. They are Polish Janusz, (Jim Sturgess) Tomasz, (Alexandru Potocean) and the night blind Kazik. (Sebastian Urzendowsky) An American, Mr. Smith, (Ed Harris) Russian Valka, (Colin Farrell) Latvian Voss (Gustaf Skarsgård) and Yugoslavian Zoran. (Dragos Bucur) They are joined along the way by Polish Irena. (Soairse Ronan) They walk through the most extreme conditions. Winter storms, rough terrain, sand storms, and eventually blistering sunlight. Some make it, some do not.

I was honestly very surprised that this didn't get a wider release, or a more serious push during the Oscars. They got one (very deserving) nomination for Best Make Up, but nothing more. The cinematography was brilliant and I was very impressed with the various accents the actors used. It felt long and dragged in parts, but I expected that from a movie that's main point was people walking.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable Quote: "I thought that story was sadder, so you wouldn't leave me behind." - Irena (Soairse Ronan)

Comments

  1. Candice FrederickMay 22, 2011 at 11:06 AM

    i need to putthis one in my netflix quuee. i've heard nothing but good things about it, but i've been kinda avoiding it. thanks for the reminder and review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnivarnMay 22, 2011 at 7:31 PM

    I think it's one of those movies that rides high on the 'good' bandwagon. It's far from the greatness it could achieve, but no where near a bad film. Makes it perfectly acceptable and intriguing two hours :). Of course my love for Peter Weir has nothing to do with it *cough*

    ReplyDelete

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