Poster of The Way Back

The Way Back

Adventure, Drama, History

Director: Peter Weir

Release Date: January 21, 2011

Where to Watch

The Way Back was simultaneously beautiful and evocative, but too long and somewhat unbelievable. After I finished watching the movie, I discovered that the entire movie was possibly fiction despite being based on an autobiography. What felt real: the indomitable Polish spirit in the face of Soviet dominance, the far reaching, inescapable reach of Soviet dominance. What didn’t feel real: random American (forgivable because I get to see Ed Harris) in Siberia, random girl not at all threatened by self-professed bad guy and lech, the sudden dominance of the musical score, main character still knowing about nature in completely alien environments, distinguishing character’s background stories. Random fun fact: Gustaf Skarsgård, who is in the supporting cast as a former priest and is in Vikings, is the son of Stellan Skarsgård, brother of hottie Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) and brother of Bill Skarsgård, who is apparently in Hemlock Grove, which I have yet to see. Skarsgårds are taking over the world, and I almost didn’t notice it. I put The Way Back in my queue because Colin Farrell is actually a good actor who unfortunately gets ignored because of his personal exploits. He doesn’t fail to impress here-he gets ugly in both appearance and spirit while also exuding pathos about conflicting feeling about home versus freedom. When he is no longer in the film, he takes a lot of the movie’s momentum with him. The Way Back aims for sweeping epic, but falls short. Not bad, but not a must see.

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