The Way Back

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Weir directs. Russell Boyd behind the camera. Burkhard von Dallwitz scores. Lee Smith cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Poland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Polish, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 81% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 2Released 16 years ago.
• 3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Polish, Russian.
• 4International production across 3 countries: Poland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America.
• 5Directed by Peter Weir, shot by Russell Boyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Burkhard von Dallwitz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Lee Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess and Saoirse Ronan carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "Their escape was just the beginning.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt1023114 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Classified under 12 themes, including "escape", "world war ii", "soviet union", "anti-communism".
• 12Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Russell Boyd

Original score

Burkhard von Dallwitz

Editing

Lee Smith

Production design

John Stoddart

Costume design

Wendy Stites

Makeup / hair

Robin Beauchesne

VFX supervisor

Dennis Jones

Sound

Richard King

Stunt coordinator

Kaloian Vodenicharov

Runtime

133 min · 2h 13m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$30,000,000

Box office

$24,172,201

Return

81% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

The Way Back (2010) ↗

Also by

Peter Weir

• 
  Dead Poets Society

  1989 · ★ 8.3
• 
  The Truman Show

  1998 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Three to Go

  1971 · ★ 7.5
• 
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

  2003 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Picnic at Hanging Rock

  1975 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Gallipoli

  1981 · ★ 7.1

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The Way Back Movie Trailer [HD]

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Andres Gomez2013-11-26
  ★ 7/10

  It is always a pleasure to watch one of Ed Harris movies. The plot hooks you and the staging is impressive but the movie is not as thrilling as it could have been.

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2019-10-23
  ★ 8/10

  Better to die free than live under the shackles of communism "The Way Back" (2010) takes place circa 1940-42 and details a group's mad escape from a Siberian gulag through the cold, desolate Soviet wilderness into Mongolia, across the great Gobi desert, through mountainous Tibet and ultimately freedom in India. The film was inspired by Slavomir Rawicz' popular book "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom," but not based on it. After records of Rawicz' release from the gulag by the USSR in 1942 were unearthed the veracity of the book was called into question; others suggest that, although the circumstances of the story may not have happened to author Rawicz, they're apparently based on real events with real individuals, like Polish soldier Witold Glinski. Moreover, in light of the millions of prisoners carted away to Siberia during that time period, isn't it likely that a handful of them successfully escaped and had experiences similar to those shown in this movie (and the book) regardless of whether or not they made it all the way to India? In any event, director Peter Weir has plainly stated that the film is largely fictional and only inspired by the book, which may or may not be a true account. The group's natural leader is Janusz (Jim Sturgess), not because he has any leadership charisma but simply because he spent half his life in the woods and KNOWS how to survive in such an environment. As Solomon said, "A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength." Also along for the haul is a cynical American called Mister Smith (Ed Harris), a Russian hooligan named Valka (Colin Farrell), a comic accountant, an artistic pastry chef, a priest, a Pole with night blindness and a teen-aged girl named Irena, played by Saoirse Ronan, who incidentally celebrated her 16th birthday on the set. This a story of survival. The group faces freezing nights, lack of food & water, bugs, death, the never-ending Gobi desert and the Himalayas, not to mention the inevitable moral questions that arise from such a life or death situation. Some have complained that the film involves too much walking, but that's the whole point: the film's about a 4000-mile escape on foot to freedom. It drives home some powerful messages that will be pondered well after viewing: • The government in communistic or extreme socialistic states is a cold, uncaring, demonic machine that will immediately squelch dissidents through any measure possible, including torturous coercion, slander and execution. • Such godless governments are a vile social infection that spreads and must be escaped at all costs. • Is this socialistic disease now spreading to America? Of course it is and it’s been obvious for quite some time (the Dems). • Better to die free than live in a gulag (aka labor camp or reeducation camp) or under dictatorial socialistic governments. • No matter how bad it is, at least you don't have to live in a gulag. • Mongolians and Tibetans are people of true honor. • Saoirse Ronan is a precious young lady. In addition, the film features a great score and spectacular locations, shot in Bulgaria, Morocco and India. FINAL WORD: "The Way Back" is a must if you love survival stories like "Flight of the Phoenix" (especially the original version) or "Sands of the Kalahari," as well as films like "Lawrence of Arabia," "Black Robe" and "Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan." It's unique but it has the same general tone. Stay away if you have ADHD or solely relish films with conventional Hollywood plotting and roll-your-eyes BS, not that there's anything wrong with that, lol. RUNTIME: 2 hours and 13 minutes. GRADE: A-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Exclusive Media

  US

• 

  National Geographic Films

  US

• 

  Image Nation Studios

  AE

• EX

  Exclusive Films

• MO

  Monolith Films

  PL

Key crew

• ProducerNigel Sinclair
• ProducerPeter Weir
• Production AccountantDuncan Henderson
• ProducerJoni Levin
• ProducerKeith Clark
• CastingLina Todd
• Production DesignJohn Stoddart
• Art DirectionKess Bonnet
• CastingJudith Bouley
• Set DecorationGoro Deyanov
• Costume DesignWendy Stites
• Costume SupervisorJoseph Cigliano
• Costume SupervisorBridget Ostersehlte
• EditorLee Smith
• Visual Effects SupervisorDennis Jones
• Sound DesignerRichard King
• Sound Re-Recording MixerRon Bartlett
• Sound Re-Recording MixerPhil Heywood
• ADR & DubbingJenny T. Ward
• ADR & DubbingTony Murtagh
• Art Department AssistantAziz Rafiq
• CarpenterEmil Gigov
• FoleyLes Fiddess
• Visual Effects ProducerMagdalena Wolf

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• escape
• world war ii
• soviet union
• anti-communism
• india
• gulag
• american
• thug
• based on memoir or autobiography
• communism
• political repression
• ussr

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2010-09-03· Telluride Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2010-12-29PG-13
• Theatrical2011-01-21PG-13
• Physical2011-04-22PG-13· DVD, Blu-ray

Also known as

International titles

• Les chemins de la libertéFR
• Camino a la LibertadES
• Rumo à LiberdadePT
• Путь домойRU
• Caminho da LiberdadeBR
• NiepokonaniPL
• 回去的路CN
• 回家的路CN
• 归途CN
• 亡命千万里CN
• 自由之路TW
• 웨이 백KR
• ウェイバック -脱出6500kmJP
• The Way Back – Der lange WegDE
• Шлях додомуUA