"The Way Back"...is walking.

This Saturday night's viewing was the 2010 film "The Way Back". With a running time of 133 minutes, this is a film that you need to settle in for, but the epic scenery and true story make it well worth it. Based on the book, "The Long Walk," this film tells the story of a group of culturally diverse prisoners held in a Siberian gulag in World War II and the harrowing escape and journey to freedom more than 4000 miles away. I have always heard it said that you gravitate towards what scares you, and reading all of Tom Rob Smith certainly didn't make Siberian gulags into summer camp, and this movie doesn't either.

One of the production companies responsible for "The Way Back" is National Geographic Entertainment, and it shows in nearly every frame, as the scenery is nearly it own character. The film marries a National Geographic landscape special with a historic documentary and adds great acting and compelling plot.
Jim Sturgess, one of the highlights of "Across the Universe", is every inch the starving prisoner and supposed Polish spy, he gives the film a solid lead. With Ed Harris (Apollo 13) as the wise American prisoner, and Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) as the girl on the run who joins the gang of escapees, the cast brings the story to life in some of the most sweeping cinematography.
"The Long Walk" is available in CDbook and hardcover.