Okay, I knew it was a Peter Weir film going into it.  The Way Back, based on the book ThE Long Walk, tells the story of a Polish officer who escapes from a Soviet gulag with seven others during WWII.  They cross Siberia and much of Asia on foot to freedom.

This feels like those epic films from the 50s and 60s about WWII with a motley crew of misfits trying to outfox the bad guys in a film that feels like cinema because of the grand production values.  The landscapes here are lovely, but some of the film feels choppy and even sloppy (like the truncated sequence in which the prisoners escape from the gulag).

All in all, it’s a pretty film, but I’m not sure that’s what we’re supposed to take away with us.  I will add that I like Jim Sturgess in the lead as the Polish officer; I’ve had a crush on him since Across The Universe, but it’s his performance I’m recommending.