Into the Wild

Rating: 8/10 (27 April 2008)

I had no idea what is this movie was about; but only because it was directed by Sean Penn, I got interested in seeing it. Before the show at Pathe Tushinski in Amsterdam, I read the story of the movie and realized that this is a true story which was presented in one of the Oprah Winfrey shows, so that got me more interested.
A young man  Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), after graduation, donates $ 24,000 to Oxfam and leaves his family and friends to live a dream of being alone with nature in Alaska. On his journey from Arizona, California, Colorado River and South Dakota, he ends it at the Fairbanks, Alaska  wilderness living alone on an abondaned bus. After 5 months he is found dead due to starvation.
What remained for the world were his thoughts that he penned down in a diary that became a major inspiration for his biography by John Krakauer, documentary Call of the Wild by Ron Lamothe and this wonderful movie directed by Sean Penn.
Director Sean Penn has well matured his skill as a screenplay writer and director (apart from acting) since his first venture The Indian Runner in 1991. He pours his heart and soul into making the movie a wonderful experience of film making. He scores top in weaving the story with flashbacks and not letting the interest drop for a single second till the very end. The cinematography by Eric Gautier is breathtaking, and so is the music.
Emile Hirsch is a bit of a miscast in this role, but he has given his best performance and after a while it is very difficult to think of another actor enacting the same role. He lives the character in flesh and blood. I would have stilled liked him look more rigored throughout the movie like a wanderer's physical body rather than a well nurtured body.
Surely Christopher was a lost kid, searching for answers. I think he was also stubborn and arrogant, too confident to think about himself that he can survive in the wilderness. He was a misfit in the society and would have remained so throughout his life.
The same day on I was watching the BBC documentary of 2007 Virginia campus shooting by Korean boy Seung Hui Cho, and I drew similarities between these suicidal characters of Seung Hui and Christopher. Both standing on the same cross roads  former choosing violence, and the latter choosing solitude as suicide! Both thought what they are doing the right thing, and they know the real answer. Sadly both did not! This society we live in renders humans into isolation and either makes villain (as did with Seung) and hero (as did with Chris) out of these crazy suiciders. Can we move away from our morals please and look at the real roots of the problems? Sean Penn presents the movie as a message of wisdom words  Loveetc. and misses the real wisdom of life. Yet the movie is a fantastic viewing that I would highly recommend it.
(Stars 8 out of 10)