Solid performances and message

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2008)

Into the Wild succeeds in the difficult task of transforming a true life story into true art. The juxtaposition between the "Magic Bus" scenes and the scenes of the prior life paint a portrait of extremes. Neither the overly materialistic world of the hero's parents nor the wild world of Alaska prove satisfactory. Rather, the sublime in between world of the farmer, of the old leather worker, and even of the hippies is idealized. Moral of the story is clear and well illustrated: everything in moderation.
The movie reminds me in some ways of the current controversy involving Obama and the Reverend Wright. Reverend Wright's snippets played in the media and YouTube make the mistake of assuming all of America is static and wrong. Yet the media makes the same mistake by turning Reverend Wright into a caricature by only focusing on the "negative" things he has said while ignoring the positive real differences he has made in the community. In Wild, the hero makes the same mistake by focusing only on the wrongs of the world while turning a blind eye to the love around him.