THEIR ESCAPE WAS JUST THE BEGINNING.
During World War II, a group of Gulag prisoners escape from the camp, but soon learn that the wilderness is the biggest obstacle to freedom. After Master and Commander (2003), director Peter Weir made another historical epic where a group of men face challenges in harsh locations. This story was inspired by actual (though disputed) events where we follow the prisoners as they make their way through such punishing places as the forests of Siberia and the Gobi Desert. Grand, with a good cast, the film makes one’s imagination fly, but we never get very close to the characters, and the ending is flat.
2011-U.S.-Abu Dhabi-Poland-India. 133 min. Color. Directed by Peter Weir. Book: Slawomir Rawicz (“The Long Walk”). Cinematography: Russell Boyd. Cast: Jim Sturgess (Janusz Wieszczek), Ed Harris (Mr. Smith), Colin Farrell (Valka), Saoirse Ronan, Dragos Bucur, Mark Strong… Gustaf Skarsgård.
