Into the Wild

[shortfiction]

If you have not yet seen Into The Wild, I strongly recommend it.  It's incredibly well done, with strong performances by everyone, particularly Emile Hirsch as Chris McCandless, a young man who leaves behind the world of college, corporations and money and goes off across the U.S., with a journey to Alaska as his ultimate goal--and unfortunately as his downfall.

Hal Holbrook is phenomenal as a lonely older man who wants Chris to be a son to him.  I think both he and Hirsch should receive nominations.   

Sean Penn directs but does not appear in the film.  He also wrote the screenplay and gave this true story what I thought was a very even-handed, straightforward presentation.  He didn't try to make Chris out to be a hero or victim and doesn't try to pound viewers over the head with any kind of message. 

The book, by Jon Krakauer, is also quite good and I recommend that as well.   

Gorgeous scenery too, and a fine score done mostly by Eddie Vedder.

[notBastet]

I saw this recently and was also quite impressed.

I did not know the story at all when I went to see the movie, but I was not surprised by the ending... but that is actually a good thing, a reflection of how Penn decided to present the story.

I particularly loved the "wide open spaces" feel to the movie...

[notBastet]

spoiler



well, i don't want to affect your opinion.  but it is presented as unintentional/accidental/ignorant...  you want more details?

[notBastet]

spoiler...





lofty idealism can sometimes get in the way you know?  the movie suggests he was doing fine, all set to leave the wilderness and return to civilization, and he went back to cross what was once not more than a stream, but had become a torrential river which he could no longer cross.  he then returns to his magic bus in the wilderness,seems to eat the wrong berries, thus gets poisoned, and dies.

It is a weird thing to say, but his death is presented in a very 'honest' fashion, for lack of a better word. i.e. he is not presented as a martyr, but you also don't feel like "what were you thinking, stupid idiot!" - at least I didn't.  his death at the end is merely the end of the movie, most of the movie, I think, is actually more of a celebration of his life. 

[notBastet]

between you and me, I am generally pretty smart, but I have moments where I am quite dense and incredibly gullible...

he was also quite young...

fwiw, I read the initial magazine article Jon K. wrote, but not the novel.

[notBastet]

yes, sorry , in the movie, the reason he was searching for the berries in the first place was because of no food... it was a mistake, he didn't eat the right berries.  As I read about it afterwards, I think that is a theory of what may have happened, not known for sure.

[shortfiction]

I think he was ill prepared for the Alaskan winter and made a fatal error. What he ate looked very much like something non-poisonous and he was confused.  He should have checked his guidebook more carefully first.  It's also possible that what he ate would have been all right except that it had toxic mold or bacteria on it.  I don't know if anyone ever found out for sure.   It was certainly non an intentional death.

[Kd5000]

SPOILER

Chris  got trapped by that raging river. He couldn't cross to get back to civilization.  I read elsewhere he had planned to hike to the coast.  He figured the raging river would recede by August.  Unfortunately, he poisoned himself eating bad seeds. A healthier person would have rebounded faster. However, he was already emaciated.       

When I first heard the story back in 1992, I thought his enthusiasm and naivety got the best of him.  Now I wonder if he wasn't possibly manic. As I age, I sometimes see things from a different perspective.

I just love that last line Chris wrote (as I posted elsewhere) "Happiness only real when shared."  It really hit me harder as I just finished reading the book.  He put that comment next to a very moving piece of prose in Dr. Zhivago.

I wish it was doing better at the b.o.  Perhaps if it's nominated, more ppl will discover this gem of a film. 

[Front-Ranger]

I saw this with friends in Blu-Ray last weekend. Even though it's a longish movie, with a sad ending, I'd recommend it highly, for the great acting and many wonderful locations (about 30, culminated by the beautiful Alaskan wilderness).