The Way Back

Movie: The Way Back

Cast:    Ed Harris         (Mr. Smith)

            Jim Sturgess    (Janusz)

Genre: Drama

Synopsis: The movie is supposed to be based a real-life prison escape.  A group of prisoners in a Soviet gulag in Siberia escaped in 1940.  Among them was an American known only as Mr. Smith and a Polish prisoner named Janusz.  The conditions in the gulag and in the mine these prisoners worked in were brutal; but the conditions into which they escaped were no less brutal.  As Janusz said, at least they could die as free men. Janusz was the only one with any real survival skills.  They survive a truly brutal Siberian winter as they try to make it to the Soviet-Mongolian border.  Ultimatley, Janusz leads the survivors across the Himalayas to freedom in India.

My two cents: According to IMDB, there is evidence that the author of the memoirs upon which the movie is based did not actually make the journey himself; but rather wrote about the exploits of some other prisoners.  In any case this was a pretty good movie. They conditions these men survived are beyond belief.  At times I would catch myself thinking that the writers had made the script a little too unbelievable – until I remembered that this journey actually happened.

Maybe not the best date movie, but worth seeing.

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