A Difficult Lesson

Rating: 5/10 (9 July 2008)

While I have to admit enjoying the film as an adventure tail on the whole I found the main character of McCandless totally unlikable. Despite the directors best efforts to portray him as some kind of charming rogue or anti hero. This guy is perhaps the most selfish individual I have seen on film in a long while. He basically walks out on his parents including his sister who loved him to death, he also turns his back on everyone who is kind to him in the film so he can live like a bum for a couple of years and die of starvation in the Alaskan wilderness due to lack of preparation. And some how we are supposed to think this guy is some kind of hero?
No, I'm sorry, I have no sympathy for this kid at all. It's a great tale of adventure and exploration, but a very poor tail of forgiveness and understanding of the mistakes made by others. This brat thought he was better than society, than the rest of Humanity, and it cost him his life because in the state of nature Humans are very small insignificant things. Without our technology, without our culture and working together we are at the total mercy of nature. Humans can survive in nature, but we will never thrive in it. Also I love how this guy despises society, yet is more than happy to use society's tools to help him survive. Guns, knives, oil lamps, and blankets are not a natural state of the environment last time I checked. Watch this film if you like a good yarn about exploring the world, but don't try to emulate this unfortunate fellow, or the unforgiving wilderness will claim another victim.