Fun, but ultimately limited

Rating: 6/10 (23 March 2018)

The Way Back, directed by Peter Weir, tells the story of several Siberian gulag inmates and their escape to freedom. This film does a good job at what it was meant to do: entertain. Being able to follow the characters through their treacherous journey was exciting to watch, and sad to see so many likeable people die. In terms of an educational film on the horrors of the gulag, it did a very good job, though it was quite brief in comparison to the rest of the movie.
The very first scene portrayed the feelings that many Russians felt upon being interned. The scene used a lot of minimalism, limiting the screen to 3 wide shots, one for each character. It felt almost disorienting for the audience. We have no perception of who these characters are, why this man is being accused, why his wife is seemingly betraying him, the sheer callousness of the guard as he refers to them as "accused" and "witness". This confusion was also felt by many inmates, as they were often interned for false, almost arbitrary reasons. The scenes within the camp were the highlight of the film as they were able to tell so much about life within these camps, with so little time spent there. Some noticeable sections that were displayed were the trade micro-economy that existed within these camps, demonstrated by the exchanges of cigarettes, meats, and clothing; the existence of a hierarchy ruled by the criminal class; and the presence of various prisoners forming groups based off of reason for internment, whether it was criminals or political internees. The cinematography was also especially strong within the camps. The extreme wide shots of the neighboring mountains truly portrayed the expanse and isolation of this camp. The fences were not the jail, the environment was. The shots demonstrated the impossibility of escape, and the hopelessness that the inmates felt. Inside of the mine was another highlight. The stage presence of smoke, falling rocks, and orange filters created a sense of exhaustion, claustrophobia, and disease, all of which were truly present in the mines. Working there was essentially a death sentence, and this concept was heavily felt. One noticeable flaw in the film was the lack of starvation within the inmates and those travelling. The makeup was well done and believable, but in terms of physicality, everyone looked pretty well fed. There was one scene where a man was begging for food, but that was the extent to which the hunger was shown. Overall though, this film was strongest in the beginning, but still fun to watch throughout.