The Epic Journey to Freedom of Spirit

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2011)

In 1939, the Polish military Janusz (Jim Sturgess) is accused of espionage by the Soviet Union. His wife is tortured and Janusz is sentenced to twenty years imprisoned in a Siberian gulag. When Janusz is assigned to work in the mines, he feels that the only chance to survive is escaping from the camp.
He plots to break out with the bitter American Mr. Smith (Ed Harris); the funny Yugoslavian accountant Zoran (Dragos Bucur); the Polish chef and aspirant artist Tomasz Horodynsky (Alexandru Potocean); the Polish Kazik (Sebastian Urzendowsky) that has night blindness; and the Latvian priest Voss (Hustaf Skarsgard) and is forced to admit the Russian criminal Valka (Colin Farrell) in the group of escapees. Along their journey, they face snow storm, mosquitoes, hunger, the desert, sand storm, thirsty and they meet the fugitive teenager Irena (Saoirse Ronan) that joins the group. In the end, three of them reach freedom in India.
In accordance with the introduction of "The Way Back", in 1941 three escapees from Siberia arrived in India crossing the Himalaya and walking 6,400 kilometers (or 4,000 miles). Peter Weir makes a good film based on a true story with the epic journey to freedom of spirit of seven men and one teenager. The performances are top-notch, and locations, special effects and make-up are very impressive. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Caminho da Liberdade" ("Path to Freedom")