Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012

In 1941, we are told, some prisoners escaped from a Russian gulag and walked across Siberia, the Gobi Desert and Tibet to freedom in India. This one takes those peculiar provenance practices from “Based on a true story,” beyond “Inspired by…” to a kind of “Dedicated to those who may or may not have ever done something like this.” But that’s okay, I think, because this true-enough, CGI-free film by Peter Weir is a hell of a sit. It’s well acted (by Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan), stunningly photographed (National Geographic was involved), and, yes, pretty inspiring.