The Way Back
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A small band of multicultural convicts stages a daring escape from a WWII-era Siberian gulag, and embarks on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival.
What critics thought
Peter Weir's survival epic earns respect for its sheer physical scale and committed performances, but critics consistently felt it held audiences at arm's length emotionally — impressive as a feat of filmmaking ambition, yet curiously smaller in impact than its vast setting demands.
“It's good, but from this director we have come to expect great.”
Empire
“Weir has put together a good film – oddly, though, considering its scale, it feels like a rather small one.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“A journey that feels awful and heroic and unfathomable – and one you'll want to watch again.”
Sukhdev Sandhu·The Daily Telegraph
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Adventure, History
Cast & Crew
Peter WeirDirector
Ed HarrisMr. Smith
Jim SturgessJanusz Wieszczek
Saoirse RonanIrena Zielińska
Colin FarrellValka
Mark StrongAndrei Khabarov
Gustaf SkarsgårdAndrejs Voss
Dejan AngelovAndrei
Dragoș BucurZoran
Sally BrunskiJanusz's Wife, 1939
Alexandru PotoceanTomasz Horodinsky
Sebastian UrzendowskyKazik
Zahari BaharovInterrogator
Russell BoydCinematographyThe Way Back
A small band of multicultural convicts stages a daring escape from a WWII-era Siberian gulag, and embarks on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival.
What critics thought
Peter Weir's survival epic earns respect for its sheer physical scale and committed performances, but critics consistently felt it held audiences at arm's length emotionally — impressive as a feat of filmmaking ambition, yet curiously smaller in impact than its vast setting demands.
“It's good, but from this director we have come to expect great.”
Empire
“Weir has put together a good film – oddly, though, considering its scale, it feels like a rather small one.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“A journey that feels awful and heroic and unfathomable – and one you'll want to watch again.”
Sukhdev Sandhu·The Daily Telegraph
Accolades
Genres
Drama, Adventure, History
Cast & Crew
Peter WeirDirectorEd HarrisMr. SmithJim SturgessJanusz WieszczekSaoirse RonanIrena ZielińskaColin FarrellValkaMark StrongAndrei KhabarovGustaf SkarsgårdAndrejs VossDejan AngelovAndreiDragoș BucurZoranSally BrunskiJanusz's Wife, 1939Alexandru PotoceanTomasz HorodinskySebastian UrzendowskyKazikZahari BaharovInterrogatorRussell BoydCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy