SuperTramp is a Hero

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2008)

Into the Wild
By Daniel Rosado
Directed: Sean Penn
Cast: Emile Hirsch,Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Brian H. Dierker,Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook
Into the Wild is a film about a young man, that just graduated from college. Itseemed everything was going great for him, graduated with good grades,had a nice home, and was going to become a big success. But that lifestyle wasn't for Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch). He wanted to escape. He wanted to escape from his family, all of the world's problems and most of all society.
It was summer time, and Chris went out for a drive. He parked the car at a beach and fell asleep. During high tide the ocean totaled his car, but Chris safely escaped. He saw this as an opportunity to just leave. He chose to go traveling alone into the world, and leaving his family behind.
His sister, Carine (Jena Malone), understood why he would leave. Throughout their childhood they've seen their parents always yelling and arguing. Chris usually had different opinions than those of his father, Walt (William Hurt), which always led to an argument, while his mother, Billie (Marcia Gay Harden), would pretend she had a perfect family. His whole family was worried about Chris's whereabouts, but only Carine understood what he was going through, and why he did it.
Chris's main goal is to travel to Alaska; so that he can live life the way it was meant to be, out in the wild, not thinking about bills or taxes. On his epic journey, under the name Alexander Supertramp, Chris encounters many different people. First he meets two hippies, Rainey (Brian H. Dierker) and Jan (Catherine Keener), that he really bonds with. He also meets, and works for Wayne Westerberg (Vince Vaughn). Shortly after Wayne is sent to jail, and Chris decides to back to traveling. He meets some foreigners while rafting, but has to leave after a couple minutes, because of the rafting police chasing him. He then once again meets up with Rainey and Jan, he also meets a young girl that was usually with them, named Tracy Tatro (Kristen Stewart). Chris once again leaves them, and meets the last person he gets to really know before Alaska, and old man named Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook). Chris becomes Franz's unofficial adopted grandson. But after a while Chris finally heads for Alaska.
When in Alaska Chris finds an abandoned bus. He lives in the bus, and at first has a blast living off the land. He goes around climbing things and running around, and has the time of his life. Later on, Chris runs out of animals to eat, and has to turn to eating plants. After making a fatal accident, and eating the wrong plant, Chris starves to death.
Into the Wild is based on a true story. There really was a man brave enough to go out into the wild, and lived life the way he believed was best. The movie was written based on what the true adventurer wrote in his book.
This movie tells the great story of a brave man. A man who sacrificed his life, to live life to what he considered, the fullest. The world would be a much better place if people were as determined as him, and had his mindset.
3 out of 4 stars