Day 102 - Into The Wild

Into The Wild (2007) directed by Sean Penn

Where does happiness come from? I suppose that is one of quintessential musings of human existence, right along with "What is the meaning of life?" and "What is love?" There are no simple answers and more importantly no right or wrong ones. Life is all about trying to find these answers. Some people go through their whole lives without ever knowing. More sadly, some go their whole lives without ever asking.

Chris McCandless is a man of the 60's living in the 90's. He is a hippie at heart, rejecting the norms of society; money, career, home, even family in favor of a simpler more peaceful existence. Be one with nature, have no attachments, just be free; free of attachment, free of troubles, free to live. Chris thinks he has it all figured out, going out on the road to roam the wilderness, to find himself and to find this happiness. However, Chris' tragedy is not being able to differentiate between finding himself and running away.

Into the Wild tells the true story of Chris McCandless who left behind his troubled family, his bright future and society itself to wander the wilderness. His ultimate dream is to go to Alaska and live off the land. He talks about Alaska reverently as if it will solve his troubles, help him find his inner peace. Drug addicts have a phrase for that, it's called "Chasing the purple dragon." It's all about trying to obtain the unattainable and it is never as good as you imagine.

The film opens with Chris (Emile Hirsch) in the wilderness of Alaska where he finds an abandoned bus. He settles there for the next couple months and seems content living in solitude, hunting for food, reading books and writing in his journal. The story is then told from a series of flashbacks leading up to his arrival in Alaska. First he graduates from college and talks of going to Harvard Law with his parents though there is an obvious disconnect between them. He cannot wait to escape from them and the life they represent and hits the road not even bothering to tell anyone. From there he bounces around from place to place, the Pacific Northwest, a midwest farm, kayaking down the Colorado River into Mexico, hoboing across country in trains.

These scenes show his greatest moments and also his greatest failings. His travels are highlighted by serene beauty and the cinematography is quite breathtaking. It is easy to see why he is so attracted to nature and also easy to see how he overlooks what truly makes him happy, other people. It is ironic that he runs away from his troubled family only to seek out others despite the pretenses of his solitude. He wouldn't have gotten very far without the help of the people he meets, yet he single-mindedly pursues Alaska. Chris establishes genuine connections with a hippie couple (Catherine Keener and Brian H. Dierker), his boss on the farm (Vince Vaughn) and an old man (Hal Holbrook) who comes to view him as a grandson. Each are sad to see him go and I get the feeling they think he won't find what it is he's looking for out there. What he's really looking for has been in front of him this whole time, as he later realizes, "Happiness is only real when shared."

Into the Wild is beautifully shot and poetically narrated. It is driven by the strength of Hirsch's performance and Sean Penn's direction. Penn had wanted to make this film for years and the amount of care he took into telling Chris McCandless' story shows.

Grade: A-