“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
there is a rapture on the lonely shore;
there is society, where none intrudes,
by the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but nature more ..” - Lord Blayton
With these beautiful words begins Chris's journey "Into the Wild".
We are all nature lover by nature; otherwise why would we be taking days off every now and then to visit places far away from these concrete jungles we have created all around us. It’s because deep in our heart, in our soul, we feel closer to God or Creative force (one may say) when we are amid natural surroundings; if not that, atleast we feel serene and content. There are people - like me and may be like you - who are always looking forward to some adventures in the midst of nature, and every now and then they quench their cravings a bit by having a trip to places close to hills or Rivers etc but their approach is limited to that only as they cannot run away from family and other responsibilities. But then, we have people like Chris who give it all up - family, career, money, everything - to live the dream, to do what they want and that is to be "Into the Wild."
What make me Watch it : I’d have never known of this movie, if not for a wonderful review by Subha(Wiredforsound). Her review is so inspiring that it made me add this movie to my "To Watch List" on the first read. Other than that, (a) My love for nature and (b) A hidden desire to live like Chris - in the company of nature, atleast for a day or two - on my own- just wandering and wandering in wild until I get tired of it; I know it necessitates a bit of madness, and unfortunately I lack that.
About the Story : Based on the Book - with the same name- by Jon Krakauer, "Into the Wild" tells the tale of real life adventures of Christopher McCandless(Emile Hirsch). In 1990 - just after graduation - Chris left behind his family (without letting them know of his plan), his future in the materialistic world - burning or donating all his money and leaving his car in a deserted lake - and set out on a dream of living life in the wilderness with a primary goal of reaching Alaska one day. Negligence from parents and his love for nature were the chief driving forces behind his judgment.
He assumed a name of "Alexander Supertramp", as he found it more exploratory. For two years (1990 -1992) he lived a life of extreme adventures like living in the woods, hunting wild animals, sustaining on things provided by nature, befriending strange and unknown people, crossing wild rivers, climbing mountains, travelling ticket-less on freight trains, and what not; and all that he did on his own. On his way, he met various people, who helped them in his voyage and brought various changes in him regarding the understanding of the world and of the Wild; and in the same way Chris also affected their life and found a place in their hearts.
Nearly after two years of adventure, on his way to Alaska Chris took shelter in a remote area, across a stream, in an abandoned Bus - to which he gave a name of "Magic Bus". He fell in love with the place since it was secluded from rest of the world, has an all providing shelter in the bus, and natural beauty all around; But with the passage of time, as he faced the adversities of nature and all his supplies and energy run out. He found nature to be harsh and uncaring too and realized that "Happiness can only be real when shared" and he decided to return to his friends and family. But the dark side of nature that he he had just discovered, didn’t let him go. He soon found himself captivated in the bus, as river that run all around the bus became wide, deep and violent due to thaw. He found himself no longer in control of his life and there in the midst of wilderness in his Magic Bus, he starved to death.
Some days after his death, his body was found by hunters. His dream of reaching Alaska did come true later but in the form of his ashes carried by his sister.
About the Movie : "Into the Wild" came in 2007, and is around 2 hours and 30 minutes of coverage of nature at its best. It can easily be shown on Discovery or NG channel for its content loaded with natural beauty. It is made very close to the way the book is written, as it is covered like chapters in the book. Mostly it runs either silent or with some sort of soft background music. Most of the story is covered with narrative by two of its chief characters, Chris and his sister Carine (Jena Malone). There are lots of thoughtful dialogues which are worth noting down and really impress with their wisdom. Conversion from Book to screenplay is quite good. There are chances that it may lead you to read the book too.
About the Actors and Characters : In my opinion, the real actor of this Movie is nature, the wilderness, the beauty of Alaska. Other than that it belongs to Emile Hirsch (Christopher McCandless), I’d have loved to see Sean Penn himself in the role of Chris, but I guess age factor might have prevented this, as it required someone who can really look a boy of 20-23 years of age. Emily has done a great job; he has portrayed right kind of emotions according to what the situation required. When I got to see the real picture of Chris when the end credits rolled, I was amazed to find the resemblance between the two.
Hal Holbrook as Ron Franz - an old man that Chris meets at Salton City, California, is another actor that really impressed. He is so natural and so fit in his role, and it's no wonder that ho got an Oscar nomination (Supporting Actor) for this small but wonderful role.
Catherine Keener as Jan Burres and Brian H. Dierker as Rainey, the hippie couple that Chris met twice on his journey provides the romantic touch, the chemistry that they shared is beauty in itself. They both look very natural.
Other Actors in the role of Chris's family have done well too.
About the Director : Sean Penn is brilliant as an actor but he has shown equal intensity as a director too, and it’s a revelation for me. Proper feel is given so that it really takes you 20 years back in the time of 1990 -1992, and selection of locales is wonderful. Though it’s a non-fiction story and revolves chiefly around one character only, he never let it loose the grip at any moment.
Background Music (Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder) is simply wonderful. Mostly a slow plucking on acoustic guitar, it suits well with the background and pace of the movie, some songs here and there by Eddie Vedder(Pearl Jam) - mostly country songs - are pleasure to ears and there words fit well with the situation they are put into.
A movie which has nature as its core requires no less than an awesome Cinematography and that’s provided well.
P.S : Rest of the review is in comment Section.
