Movie Thoughts: Into the Wild (2007)

• Released: 19 October 2007
• Directed by: Sean Penn
• Running time: 2 h 28 min
• Rating 5/5

Synopsis

Based on true events, this is the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who turns his back on society in order to travel around North America by himself with nothing but his backpack and a few supplies.

My Thoughts

Funny how I'm pretty much completely face blind and have a very hard time recognizing actors, but I did manage to recognize Emile Hirsch (from his voice role in Tales of Arcadia) and Kirsten Steward (from Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman) in this.

I've only seen this film once before, but it's still one of my absolute favorites. The story is beautiful and I do really love how well we get to know our main character (and the people he comes across on his journey). It's emotional, it's funny at times, and ultimately it's a tragic tale, as McCandless ends up dying alone in a bus in Alaska at the very end.

But honestly, even if you already know the ending going in, it's still a great movie to watch. It's about the journey and the meaningful connections our main character makes. 

There's of course the argument to be made that McCandless' journey was a bad idea in the first place and he should never have embarked on it. The moose situation, for one, is pretty bad. But I do like how he sticks to his ideas. Multiple times people offer him a simpler life, a job, money. Heck, one guy even offers to adopt him. But in the end McCandless sticks to his principles, with all of its consequences.

How he died in real life still remains disputed, but this movie goes with the theory that he ate the wrong plant leading to his eventual death. But even if this might be incorrect, it doesn't take away any impact of the movie.

I also liked the songs they used in the film. Usually I'm distracted by movies using popular songs, but I felt like they really fit here and they weren't as distracting.

This is overall just one of my favorite movies. Just go and watch it.