A long determined journey

Rating: 7/10 (30 August 2015)

The Way Back released in 2010 is a survival adventurous drama film directed by Peter Weir. The film is inspired by The Long Walk (1956), the memoir by former Polish prisoner of war Slawomir Rawicz who escaped from a Soviet Gulag along a group of 7 other men and walked 4,000 miles and continued across Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, ending finally months later in India for freedom in World War II. But through the movie we learn about only two or three walkers. Later they meet a women also on there way who added a small element of clamor in the film.
The movie is beautiful with the aspect of locations shot, the acting was brilliant by every actor, the comedy is hilarious hardly whenever it's there and the story is damn inspiring. Director Peter Weir has crafted a film that's thoroughly involving and also leads the audience to struggle throughout to complete the long journey. The way the director portrayed two death scenes in the film were awesome and well acted. In whole, it is an entertaining deterministic and adventurous prison escape movie with a touch of the epic about it.
After the starting scenes in the prison camp, and the escape, there is not much drama, continued with monotonous survival attempts. Also there are many facts in which the movie seems to be lacking to provide: details of survival- How exactly did they survive death by exposure in subzero Mongolia? Why didn't some of their meat spoil? How did their footwear hold up along 4000 miles when it was not even good for 400 miles. This makes the movie a bit incomplete.
The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The movie has lot to learn from it but at times the movie leads to bore down, so it would have been better if it was a bit shortened.