Review of The Way Back (2010) by John S — 13 May 2011

The Way Back is a cracking film about the escape from a Siberian Prison Camp.

The film follows a group of 7 prisoners who escape from their camp and try to trek for thousands of kilometers to the Mongolian border where they think they will be safe. Naturally the plot changes when the realise that Mongolia is under communist rule and they head on to China.

Its amazing what humans are capable of and the plot holds no bars in what it shows the people going through. The hardest part is through the Gobi desert in Mongolia. They stumble upon a well in the middle of the toughest part and its fascinating to see how they react to the water....

The scenery in the film is marvellous. I wish I had seen this on a big screen in a cinema now as its so beautiful, not least the Indian mountains at the end.

The plot doesnt need much criticism, its a film about some people walking and its good that they didnt need to turn it into a chase movie. For the most part the prisoners dont even meet any other humans, which is probably how it would be.

The acting is good. I liked Ed Harris as Mr Smith, Id be interested to find out what happened to his character. Mark Strong is great in his limited film time at the start as well.

My only criticism is the lighting, they are in a forest in the middle of night with but a tiny little flame on the fire and yet everyones faces are lit up perfectly so we can see their every wrinkle... whats that all about? I know bad light doesnt make a good film but thats nonsense.

Favourite scene : The end, when they make it to India.

Passport and papers? No.. we dont have.

Never mind - come in!