Tuesday Minute
No. 183 | October 19, 2010

The Crystal Ball

Our theme this week
Movies that open later in 2010

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   Fair Game

The Way Back

 

The story
In 1940, a group of soldiers escaped from a Soviet gulag in Siberia.  They set out on a long walk to freedom, a 4,000-mile trek across treacherous terrain, including the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, on their way to India.

Reasons to see it
The film credits say the story was “inspired” by the book The Long Walk, by Sławomir Rawicz, an officer in the Polish army.  Rawicz’s account is supposed to be his own true story, although there is some controversy about whether he escaped from the Soviets or was released.  Last year, another Polish WWII veteran, Witold Gliński, claimed the story was in fact true, but it was Gliński, not Rawicz, who escaped and made the journey.  The book, ghost-written by Ronald Downing, was published in 1956, sold half a million copies, and was translated into 25 languages.  The story, whatever its origins, has captured the attention of a wide audience.  The film adaptation is directed by Peter Weir, who has been less active in recent years but has a number of notable films to his credit (The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness), and he has shown a flair for capturing conflicts between different cultures, which is certainly a part of this tale.

Release date (U.S.)
December 29 (L.A.)

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The Way Back (2010)
Peter Weir, director
Sławomir Rawicz (book), Peter Weir, Keith Clarke (screenplay); writers
Russell Boyd, director of photography
Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Mark Strong
Trailer

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Quote of note
“I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.  I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain.  I hope I can make it across the border.  I hope to see my friend and shake his hand.  I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams.  I hope.”
—Red (Morgan Freeman), The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

…58…59…60.