The Way Back

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2018)

The first part of this film is the more important and historically accurate section. The film begins by depicting the torment of informing against a loved one. This not only destroyed families but often left each member feeling either extreme betrayal or guilt. Throughout the entire movie the man whose wife informed against him wanted to return to her so that she could stop living this life of guilt and torment. This is important because part of the torture of being inside a camp is being separated from loved ones or having loved ones turned against you. The film then moves to life inside the Gulag, which though a short depiction, highlights many important aspects of the Gulag. The divide between the criminals and politicals is clearly demonstrated, as well as the economy of the camp. We see who has the power and how this power can truly determine whether one lives or dies in the camp. The huge divide in beliefs within the camp was demonstrated clearly through Valka, who has tattoos on his body clearly showing his support for communism. We also see the dangers the prisoners faced, from the cold siberian weather to the deathly mines to the threat of other prisoners right alongside them. The film does a good job depicting these factors as a threat to the prisoners, however in real life there were far greater deaths from these cold winters than the movie depicts. The movie then moves on to the main portion which is the trek from Siberia to India. Throughout this walk, we do see deaths along the way which makes it somewhat realistic, however 4 men surviving such a journey was a rare occurrence that in real life only happened once, at the most. Overall, I thought this movie was interesting, especially for a movie significantly focusing on a walk. It was pretty historically accurate, especially the portion on the camps, however I wish there was a little more focus on camp life.