He's not a martyr, he just has a sad story.

Rating: 5/10 (19 June 2008)

Here's the thing about this film, and I suppose the book, had I read it. Let me say firstly that I have a lot of respect for both Sean Penn and Jon Krakauer, and the performance of Emile Hirsch was outstanding. That being said, this film was beyond disappointing. The "moral" lends itself to great misunderstanding, and I think the movie runs the danger of creating a martyr out of a man who, while eccentric and interesting, is anything but a hero. I might have liked it if I was not already well acquainted with another well-known true story of man against the elements and the profound search for meaning in human existence. I found myself contrasting Christopher McCandless' journey to that of Nando Parrado, one of the sixteen survivors of the Uruguayan rugby team plane crash in the Andes in 1972. Parrado (who also happens to be a friend) chronicled his experiences in a 2006 memoir called "Miracle in the Andes," and I can't help but wonder how McCandless' road might have taken a different turn had he heard Parrado's story first. Of course, there were several differences between the two men's stories, but the most profound are these: while McCandless' isolation and solitude (including from his family and friends) was intentional, Parrado found himself in his circumstances because of dumb luck. What makes this ironic is that while both men ultimately discovered that the only antidote to death is love, McCandless' suffering (as well as the suffering he inflicted on his family) was completely pointless. The second major difference between the stories is that while McCandless succumbed to "fate" when, as it turns out, he could very likely have survived, Parrado- whose death was a virtual certainty- refused to give in. Parrado even wrote in his book that although he was sure he was dead when he began his trek over the Andes (which lasted 11 days and took him over 17k foot peaks in nothing but street clothes and after starving on the mountain for 60 days), he *chose* to keep breathing in and out, so that when he did finally drop, he would die "one step closer to his father." McCandless, on the other hand, ran from his father only to find out (too late) that his great adventure was simply an illusion. This didn't sit well with me. I sympathize with McCandless' need to let go of his dependency on the comforts and conveniences of life and to remove himself from the familiar in order to force a deep look within. But with all due respect to his family, I don't find any nobleness in McCandless' story. It is simply a tragedy. And a needless one at that. I hope it is that lesson-- and not some beautiful and tragic glory that Krakauer and Penn try (and in my opinion, fail) to wrestle from this story-- that people ultimately remember.