As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me (2001)

Sadly Over-hyped

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

After more than 70 years and with our historical depth of today knowledge, it is difficult to watch this movie with compassion ! The atrocities of the ruthless German side were no measure to the Soviet side, especially towards my people (children, women and elders !!), not to mention what the SS backed by the Wehrmacht did in Soviet territories till 1943...Indeed, the Soviet treatment can not be considered as "5 stars hotel" to say, but at least they were given the possibility to survive and not exterminated directly after arrival at Treblinka, Auschwitz, etc. by gas chambers and incinerated !! These people were soldiers and not helpless civilian population. If one wants to understand the Russian attitude (which I personally don't support as it was applied against their own citizens by Stalin)should watch the movie "Come and See" (1985) aka "Idi i smotri" by Elem Klimov and understand the Russian animosity towards the German soldiers (they were absolutely not gentleman). Let's put it in the right historical perspective!The roots of suffering started in Germany under Hitler were more than 90% of the population collaborated mostly willingly without a second thought or hesitation. On the artistic side the movie is too long and mainly a nice shot of the Asiatic part of Russia with a very melodramatic end...it makes new generations to think that in this criminal, unique phenomenon of the history all sides were equal in their maliciousness !

An entertaining film about Clemens Forell, one of the very few people that manage to successfully escape from the Gulag. A German soldier in World War II, Forell was made prisoner and sentenced after the war to 25 years in a labor camp in the most remote patch of Siberia, near the Bering Strait, north of the Arctic Circle. Amazingly, he not only escaped the camp but made it all the way from there to Iran mostly on foot (if you don't understand why this is an amazing feat, you can look at a map).The film is more sentimental and melodramatic than it should be, but is still a worthy and entertaining movie, even if at more than two and a half hours is a bit long. One of my favorite parts is when after escaping from the camp he joins a couple of gold prospectors (the no-good prospectors seem almost out of a Western) and they sail through a remote uninhabited river that crosses beautiful conifer forests (that part of the movie, though, was apparently filmed not in Siberia but in Belarus). Even though the movie is based on a real story, some scenes shown here are hard to swallow, like the idea that the camp commander in Siberia followed him all the way to the Iranian frontier only to let him go at the international bridge. My guess is that while the main story is true, the filmmakers embellish it quite a lot.Few known actors in the movie (at least to me), though I recognized Andre Hennicke and Michael Mendl, who played Generals Wilhelm Mohnke and Helmuth Wiedling in Downfall. Also, beautiful international model Irina Pantaeva (who is originally a Buryat, a Buddhist ethnic group in Southern Siberia) plays one of the Chuckchis that shelter Forell for some time after he escaped from the camp (another good section of the movie). Hennicke plays a fellow prisoner while Mendl, even though he is a German is one of the camp doctors (why he was allowed that role is never explained).Some viewers might object that the movie shows the Soviet guards brutality toward the German prisoners, while not explaining that the German soldiers during the war probably engaged in far worse atrocities. Up to a point, this is a fair objection. But one should be mindful that a movie dramatizes a part of reality (whether is based in a real incident or not) and is not necessarily a newspaper article trying to cover all points of view.

I give this one a 4 instead of a 1 because the overall subject is fascinating. But the movie was a big let-down especially after reading the book.Although much touted for it's visual image, I was disappointed by the lack of little details. Many parts just didn't give one the feeling of being there. Forinstance, the train ride eastward; if it has been done like in Dr. Zhivago, it would have been great.The Russian camp commander was a totally cardboard character. Evil and mean but with no depth. And he is supposed to have followed a single escaped prisoner for 3 years and 8000 miles. Where was his accountability to his superiors for taking off on his own like this. Surely they wouldn't have permitted his being away from his command for months on end in the pursuit of a single escaped prisoner. In reality, the searchers spent a couple of days scanning a 50 kilometer radius then gave the escapee up for dead.And when; after dogging his prey for 3 years the commander finally catches up with him...and then lets him go? Oh please. I have seen better turns of a plot on womens afternoon shows.And that Siberian woman who fell instantly in love with him and bedded down with him the same day he came to in her Tee-pee. She happened to be beautiful and wore only the finest quality "traditional" garb. This was a totally unnecessary addition to the film.I know that a movie can't follow all the detail of a long book about a longer journey. But so much was glazed over.The dramatic end was conversely wonderful. The reunion with his wife was a great scene and done so well. It brought to life what must have been the most powerful emotions. But was cut off short by the ending credits. if they'd have added a couple of minutes to the end, it might have gone a long way toward saving something of this movie.Overall "As far as my feet will carry me" had me longing for my feet to carry me out of the theater. At best it is a medium quality "made for TV" production.

This film is about a German prisoner of war escaping from a camp in the eastern most tip of Siberia."So Weit die Füße Tragen" is amazing. Clemens' struggle to survive is almost unbelievable. His initial journey across Siberia is a lonely and hard one. The joy he experiences (and I completely feel it too) when he sees a bare tree is overwhelming. In the land of pure wilderness, the simplest item can exhilarate. It is a stark reminder of how materialistic the world has become, and we are taking so many things for granted.It is heartbreaking to see that he learns not to trust anyone, as his escape is filled with prosecution and betrayal. This keeps the thrill and suspense throughout. In fact, I had to pause the film several times to calm myself down.The execution of the film is also very good. It does not feel like 2.5 hours, in fact I think no scene can be cut away without harming the integrity of it. There are many memorable scenes, such as the raft on rapids, and the many concentration camp scenes. The most striking scene is the final bridge scene. The immense natural beauty is contrasted with the most dreaded encounter. The suspense and emotion of it is beyond words.Apart from the tight and intense plot, and the excellent execution, "So Weit die Füße Tragen" is filled with very touching elements. The ending will surely bring anyone to tears. To think that Clemens have suffered three years of unimaginable hardship to achieve this one solitary goal is inspiring and moving."So Weit die Füße Tragen" is inspiring and thought provoking. It celebrates the will power to struggle and to survive. I will remember this film as one of the most touching and powerful film I have ever watched.