The Discoveries of a Wandering Heart - a Story on Leather

Rating: 10/10 (15 November 2008)

In sharing the experience of this movie... Walk the muddy path with the Rainbow children and break bread with those discarded among the cement alleyways to know, firsthand, the genuine message of this work of art. Even a prodigal son is not deaf to the call from deep within that is the voice of a truly free man. Do we not often find that to answer such in honesty is to brandish the soul with caution forgotten - to risk life and comfort for something greater? Hirsch carries us so believably from prosperity to desperation as his own character seems to blend perfectly with the transition from the coddled false society he could not reconcile to 'happiness is real only when shared,' as he yields to the fate of classic Greek tragedy.
The themes of Lords of Dogtown (Hirsch), My Own Private Idaho (R. Phoenix, K. Reeves) and 'Where the Day Takes You' precede Penn's work, fleshing out the antagonism of wealth and poverty entangled in the question of 'what does it really mean to be alive?' Into the Wild stands as a suitable sequel, but is very much its own message with the battle within the same person, made even more compelling in its basis on the true story.
Like Oliver Stone's 'Alexander,' a true Greek tragedy of a man's dreams exceeding the limits of his body and of the ones he loves, the timeline is not sequential, bonding Chris' otherwise obtuse choices to their emotional authors. Penn might have beneficially added more struggle by Alexander Supertramp, particularly in light of Hirsch's strong stage presence and natural confidence, in resisting the temptations of settling into relationships. In this way he might avoid the character seeming too overdriven in his journey to Alaska. But possibly this question is well enough compensated for in the irony and intensity of the conclusion. The credibility of the character is remarkably enhanced by what must have been a very difficult loss of weight by Hirsch, who surely gave himself to the part in heart and soul, and convincingly unfolded Chris' revelation.
Could we not perhaps consider some room for comic relief? We might relate to 'Jeremiah Johnson' (R. Redford), another man's searching for the true mettle of his soul in the wilderness, not without its humorous moments. But the scene in which Supertramp is told that he has to wait twelve years to paddle a canoe down the Colorado River does elicit one of Hirsch's lovable sarcastic smirks that is rivaled only by Harrison Ford's half-smile when he jerks the steering wheel and bumps off the German soldier on the motorcycle (Raiders of the Lost Arc). Humor is subtle, but it is arguable that any quantity of it would derail the mood and point.
From the sheepskin of a society lost in it's love of material success, Supertramp, the 'leathertramp,' documents his search for truth upon a cowhide belt, showing the real testimony of his struggle in the unrefined cuts he must make in it to wear it on his withering body. But so much of the story is felt more than seen, in the lyric and voice of a perfectly matched musical author. Eddie Vedder's work of art as well, impossible to imagine the film without, allows the ear to transform tragedy into introspection, bonding this story of a real person with a world we can hope for, in which happiness can linger among us for a while, free from the paradox of Hamlet's manhood.