Into the great wide open...

Into the Wild is a wonderful adaptation of the book (of the same name) by Jon Krakauer.
It tells the story of a disillusioned college graduate - Christopher McCandless - who up and "quits his life", in search of what he calls ultimate freedom.
He has his own ideas about the way he wants his life to be and is dead-set on acheiving these goals. For those who do not know - this is a true story. Read the book, it's great as well.

He tells his parents he is thinking of going to Harvard Law School, but instead he send off a big check (his entire savings minus a few hundred) to a charity, gets in his old Datsun, and drives across the country on a mission to find himself. His main objective is to make it to Alaska.
For an unknown reason he is entirely fixated on this one ambition. He seeks to challenge himself to walk 'into the wild' and live with nature, and will not rest until the task is complete.

He changes his name to Alexander Supertramp, literally burns the remaining money he has on him, and begins a meandering journey around the country - meeting random people and adding a spark to their lives as well. As for his family - he never even calls to tell them he is alright. He does not feel they deserve even that much, and is bitter for various reasons which are tossed around in the narrative by his sister.

The casting in this picture is top-notch - from Vince Vaughn to Catherine Keener to Hal Holbrook (in an Oscar nominated turn). They all seek to help "Alex" in their own ways, and they all succeed in learning some life lessons that he has to teach. Holbrook, in particular, makes your heart ache for a happy ending.

There is alot of sadness intertwined here with the crystal clear elation that Alex has, finding new things to amaze and astonish him on a daily basis. His mere joy at seeing a wild animal for the first time in its natural habitat clashes with his walk through the slums and soup kitchens of LA.
He picks up odd jobs here and there - fast food, grain harvesting, selling books with a band of hippies - just enough to get by. He kayaks through the western rapids, hitches rides on trains, and basically hikes into wild Alaska at the wrong time of year, with little to no provisions or shelter. Not once did I see him consult a map. He finds an abandoned bus and sets up camp there, eating berries to survive after a failed moose poaching experience.

He's a smart man - book smart. But not the right books.

A bit of "How to survive in the wild" would have been better than a whole lot of "Dr Zhivago".

Anyway, I digress a bit. This movie is incredibly worthy of the praise it has received. It is a visual smorgasbord of stunning beauty. The acting is first rate. Emile Hirsch is - for lack of a better word - fantastic in this part and should have been taken seriously into consideration at Academy Award time. I have heard he lost over 40 pounds over the course of filming. To say more would give everything away who don't know the story.

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam fame provides the perfect music to tell the tale.

Sean Penn wrote the adapted screenplay and directed as well. He did tend to romanticize Christopher's thought process - making it seem reasonable to do what he did - which was basically, abandon his family, give all his money away, and hike - unprepared - into one of the most vast, unforgiving and at times brutal habitats in the world.

All in all, a must-see.