An army officer, sentenced to twenty years in a Siberian Gulag, makes a successful escape with a few other inmates. But they must travel 4,000 miles on foot before they can reclaim their freedom.

With gripping characterization and dynamic direction, Peter Weir turns a survival tale into a moving reflection on life’s eternal pains. Braving hostile conditions, his international cast brings out the visceral and universal dimensions of a journey that seems at times absurd, but never futile.