Epic, but far from engrossing

Rating: 3/10 (30 March 2011)

As war begins to rage in Europe and Poland is split between Germany and Russia, a young Polish man finds himself in a Gulag in Siberia in squalid conditions among a motley group of men from various backgrounds. Conditions are horrific, made worse by the harsh winter weather and life is made even worse if you are chosen to work in the mines. One inmate declares he knows a gap in the fence and a group of inmates decide under the cover of a winter storm to make a run for it. They manage to get away, far into the surrounding forest as the blizzard rages around them. But being free of the Gulag doesn't mean total freedom, not only do they have to fight the elements, but there are wolves as well a bounty given to locals if they capture runaways and somehow of course they have to get out of Russia.
The men make their way south, with the idea of getting to China. It's a long way, through the frozen lands of Siberia and along the way one of them succumbs to the elements. Further south, they pick up a young woman, another runaway Pole and on reaching Mongolia they discover that Communism has taken hold there, meaning safety is not guaranteed, leaving them the only option to cross the Gobi desert and make their way to Tibet and over to India.
This film by Peter Weir is based on the 'true story' - although that's been debunked- and it's an epic tale. The journey is huge, yet somehow for most of the group they will endure anything to survive and get back to those they love. It should be an engrossing story, but it really doesn't manage to maintain interest. For starters this mammoth trek feels like a mammoth (cinema) trek, which goes on far too long; I found myself not wanting them to reach safety for themselves, but for me as I couldn't wait for the film to end. Also, it's difficult to relate to these people, some are criminals, some are viewed as criminals by others, but we rarely get to know more about these people other than a few snippets gathered (conveniently) by the woman. Because of this it's difficult to find an emotional connection to these people who by all accounts are going through a huge life altering journey.
It's a shame as it really should be an engrossing story, but it all feels very formulaic in it's presentation and while performances are okay, with actors playing various nationalities and there's an abundance of accents (and surprisingly all the characters speak fluent English!), the film just drags towards the end and it's main redeeming feature is the glorious variety of landscapes that fill the screen.
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