Into the Wild
The movie poster for Into the Wild caught my interest a while ago but I only just managed to watch it.
Chris just finished college and instead of going on to grad school, he gives all his savings to a charity, packs his bag and goes off on a journey without telling any of his family. He backpacks through the US and South America but his ultimate destination is Alaska. Here he walks through the snow until he finds an abandoned bus where he stays. In the film, the story goes back and forth between Alaska and his memories of the journey that led him there while Chis’ sister narrates the entire story.
The movie is beautifully shot and I love traveling and have always been intrigued by the idea of going “into the wild” with just a backpack and no idea where I am going to end up so it is right up my alley. But it could have definitely used some more editing. It is unnecessarily long and loses itself in the beauty of nature once in a while. I didn’t like the main actor which, in this movie, is a big deal. I don’t remember having seen Emile Hirsch in anything else but I thought he lacked in charisma.
Into the Wild is based on a true story that Sean Penn wrote the screenplay for and directed it. I think he seems like the kind of guy who would actually go out into the wild himself which comes through in the detailed way nature is shown. It is like “nature” or “the wild” is actually a character in this film. It can be as gorgeous as it can be dangerous. Overall, the movie is probably only really interesting to people who like the outdoors and who like adventure. If you are interested in these kinds of things, as beautiful as this film is I would recommend you watch Motorcycle Diaries and Ewan McGregors documentary The Long Way Round first.
Tags: Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild, nature, Sean Penn
November 30th, 2009 at 12:19 am
The book Into the Wild is really amazing.
I have not seen the movie yet, but I want too.
However, I really like Emile Hirsch. Loved him in The Girl Next Door and Speed Racer. But that might not have to do with his acting ability; I just think he’s cute.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:00 am
I haven’t read the book but it sounds great. I also haven’t seen The Girl Next Door or Speed Racer but to be honest, don’t think I will
I am not sure what I didn’t like about Emile Hirsch. I just generally didn’t find him interesting as a person.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Nifty post…but it begs the question:
Is the movie’s impact lessened by the truth about the stupidity of Chris’s ultimate fate?
November 30th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Well Mad Hatter, I didn’t want to say anything about the ending because of people who have not seen the movie yet. But, I have to say, it annoyed me greatly! How can someone who travels so much not be aware of rivers becoming stronger and wider in the spring. And most of all, why did he not go south or north along the river? I think you are right, I might have enjoyed the movie more with a different ending. It felt somewhat out of context. But I guess Penn didn’t want to change the real Chris’s ending for the movie.
December 1st, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Oh my God, I was crying for days after I watch this movie… and thinking that this is based on true story makes me want to cry more T__T
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:11 am
Welcome to my blog Evita! I think its mostly sad cause the end is surprising. And it doesn’t say that its based on a true story until the end…