Into The Wild

How do I even begin to approach this film? Honestly this film toggles amongst my top 5 favorite films of all time. If you put a gun to my head I’d probably spew out 22 films that are in my top 5, but that’s neither here nor there. I finally got it on blu-ray, so I had to indulge in viewing it as soon as I got it. And the blu-ray quality of 1080p really makes the experience beyond comprehension. From the wide-shots, to the aerials, to the final shot (which I’ll discuss later), to the life-changing story – this film is jam-packed with pure amazingness.

Sean Penn, director of MYSTIC RIVER, spent months digging into the real-life story of Chris McCandless and meeting with his family to start and develop this script. The story is simple, but within its simplicity lies its power. Emilie Hursh plays Chris McCandless who has recently graduated from high school and has a promising Ivy League collegiate roadmap laid out for him. (His father is probably reminiscent of every over-bearing father who wants his son to follow in his footsteps). Instead of taking that path he takes the road less traveled, which is induced by his love in the classic pieces of literature that encourage getting back to nature and experiencing it for all it’s worth yada yada(Tolstoy, Emerson, Hemmingway – that’s probably the extent of literary authors I know. Sorry Timmy). He drives West, burns his cash, ditches his car, and begins to “hoof it” hippy style towards his goal of the Alaskan outback.

The film is setup where flashbacks are interwoven between Chris’ adventures in Alaska. We’re shown how the people he meets begin to mold him into his new alter ego Alexander Supertramp. Eddie Veder wrote and performed several original tracks for the film and they are very fitting. His raspy voice belting out as the camera swirls around young Alexander standing aside a mountain – probably one of the most iconic and memorable scenes in the film for me.

The film heavily touches upon some of the most basic elements that make us up as humans. And one of the main takeaways from this film deals with the realization Chris has regarding finding true happiness. The scene where he discovers this is during the climax of the film. He then knows that he’s dying and he finally understands what he was searching for for so long. How to find happiness in this world. “Happiness only real when shared.” And it’s so devastating for the audience to endure, because we’ve seen Alex/Chris leave all of the people that he met along the way. The relationships and people that made him truly happy he willingly left to continue on to Alaska because that is where he felt he could find true freedom and bliss. It hurts us because we know he had already found what he was searching for, but he didn't realize what he had.

I have to discuss the final shot of the film. It honestly is one of the most mind-blowing and beautiful shots from any film I have ever seen. Whoa… I know. You obviously have to see if for yourself, but it starts in so close on Chris’ face and then spirals and moves out thousands of feet into the air. I still am searching to find out exactly how they did this. It doesn’t look CGed, but that could be a part of it I suppose. It’s an amazing bookend on a life-changing film.

This film is also an amazing battle cry for those looking to drastically change their lives. It reminds me a lot of FIGHT CLUB, which is also one of my top 10 films. The central premise is also reminiscent of ABOUT SCHMIDT. The recurring theme from fight club reigns true here: “the things you own, end up owning you” and “it’s only after we’ve lost anything that we’re free to do anything.” Powerful truths that should make us uncomfortable about our perfect cookie-cutter lives. It also reminds me of films like BLOW where young George’s dad tells him that money isn’t real, and that it doesn’t matter at the end of the day, or your life. Only people matter.

At the heart of this film is the minimalistic lifestyle, which many associate with the hippie community. To take it to extremes, dumpster diving could come into the picture. One of my favorite bands, mewithoutYou, front-man, Aaron Weiss, is a huge proponent for this movement and over the past year his beliefs and songs have challenged me in that similar realm. Even if you never run off into the wilderness, burn all your money, and throw away all your worldly possessions, INTO THE WILD will still challenge your way of thinking and the Americanized system we’ve become embedded into.

Rating: 10/10