Based on a true story, a young man's journey to find himself by going into the wild.

Rating: Null/10 (17 March 2008)

Emile Hirsch is Chris McCandless, just graduating from college. He is good-looking and bright, and clearly has a bright future. But he is put off by the "demands" of society. Why should it be demanded that he further his education? An early sign in the movie was when his mom and dad offered to buy him a new car as a graduation gift. He didn't want it. "My old car runs just fine, it should last several more years."
So Chris decided to go off on a personal trek to find out what his life should really be about. He doesn't tell his parents or his younger sister, he just disappears, donating a large chunk of money to charity. He gets rid of all personal identification, and even loses his car in an overnight flash flood in a low spot in the desert.
He adopts a new name, Alex Supertramp, and moves about the country, working at odd jobs here and there, flipping burgers or driving a wheat harvesting machine. He makes many new friends but always moves along soon.
His great quest is to spend time in the Alaska wild, and he makes it there, with a very few supplies and a rifle. His great find is an old bus that had been made into a camp with a stove and a mattress, and that becomes his home. It is difficult but he makes it.
This is a good movie, but I probably don't rate it as highly as many others do. But it was an enjoyable 2+ hours.
Marcia Gay Harden is his mother Billie McCandless and William Hurt is his father Walt McCandless.
SPOILER FOLLOWS: Many who have not even seen the movie know that Chris did not survive his stay in Alaska, but it was an unusual death. Hungry, he used books to identify safe berries for human consumption. But one night he fell very ill and when he double-checked the identity it tuned out to be a berry that blocks nutrition absorption, and there was no cure. So he died of starvation. Just after he had figured out what his purpose in life was, and he was on his way back to civilization to share his gifts with others.