Understandable until the very end!

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2008)

To understand this movie, one have to look into ones soul and try to understand one's purpose is in world really is and what it all means at the end? Which I presume is partly the reason why Mr. Sean Penn made Mr. Krakauer's book into a movie. In Chris McCandless' world the notions of material excess and gratification comes second or even last. This also allowed him to adopt a philosophy that money does not bring the sole meaning in life as his dad tried to masquerade his own wrong doings with materialistic possessions. Though the journey that Chris McCandless undertakes throughout the country in order to find some meaning to his life, it also gives him some answers, that were staring at him in the face all along. By this, I mean that all of the connections that Chris severed with his real family, he also sort of had to make on the road with his new surrogate family. Ironically the fact that he never once called home to tell his family, where he was it is both (his natural & surrogate) families that feel his loss. There is no doubt that along with the message, music, panorama vistas, Emile Hirsch, Hal Holbrook's performance that this movie will win an award. By the time the real Chris McCandless death I too was coming to an end of my own journey which lasted 8 years (and began at 17 years old), into the wilderness to some of the harshest climates and even I always followed the rules to this day. Which is why the end of this movie shocks me to this day. According to the locals Chris refused the following 1) a local map and 2) winter gear. In addition there was a bridge a few miles he could have traversed during flashflood season and 10 miles away there was a shelter with resupplies. After learning, all of this, Iam still not sure how to take this movie. Though it made me shed a tear at the end, the message I got from it, is when it comes to nature and family humility may be your greatest salvation.