I just saw the film adaptation of John Krakauer’s book,Into the Wild and enjoyed it.
As with many film adaptations, it does not follow the story verbatim, but it does a good job of capturing the spirit of the book. The story follows Christopher McCandless on his journey into the wilderness of Alaska.
— MOVIE & BOOK SPOILERS BELOW —
From Publisher’s Weekly:
After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature.
I find Chris’ idealism refreshing and inspiring. He made a lot of mistakes along the way, like taking a .22 and a bag of rice to survive in Alaska. Ultimately inexperience coupled with idealism killed him, but that doesn’t make his adventure any less inspiring. I think if Chris would have made a couple decisions differently in Alaska, he’d be alive to talk about it today.
Sean Penn wrote, produced and directed the screenplay with writing help from John Krakauer along the way. The movie was beautifully shot with gorgeous sweeping shots of the Alaskan wilderness. Penn has an eye for capturing the powerful landscape in the movie so well that it seems as if Chris’ surroundings become another character in the movie.
If you need a bit of inspiration during the holidays of mass comsumption, give this movie a try. I think you might like it.
Links of interest: movie website, book on Amazon, rotten tomatoes review, Wikipedia page for Chris McCandless.
-Dave
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. – Henry David Thoreau
