into the wild

amy told me about this movie (called into the wild) a couple of weeks ago (thanks, amy!). she told me the whole plot, i asked her too, and i'm glad she did. based on the story she told me, i had to see the movie - even though i knew what was gonna happen!

basically, the movie is based on a nonfiction book by jon krakauer (also called into the wild), which i would like to read. the book, and the movie, are about the life of chris mccandless, who makes a decision to give up all (most all) worldly possessions and "live off the land." he travels around the US (even rafting down the colorado river) meeting many interesting characters along the way. each of those characters (except the railroad po-po) fall in love with the free spirit and hopeful wisdom of the young man (he is quite naive). mr. mccandless eventually makes his way into the wild alaskan countryside (near healy, in danali nat. park - pretty much the center of the state) and takes up residence in an abandoned bus. here he overcomes his fear of killing things - and lives off of a 10 pound bag of rice, fresh kill, and native vegetation. (the hunting aspect was the only part of the movie that was not realistic, to me, because the kid killed a moose with a 22 caliber rifle! no way would that happen. the moose just dropped right there where he shot him. i just don't believe that is possible, with a 22 anyway.) during his time on the bus, he did much self reflection and decided that maybe he needed his family (or people) after all (plus he was out of rice). so he attempted to make his way back along the same path in which he got to the bus, except the rivers were swollen because it was spring (snow melt). rather than finding a new path home, he ventures back to the bus and reestablishes camp. days of rain made it hard to hunt, and he got very very hungry. he used a book he had to help find edible vegetation, however his hungered state probably caused him to make a poor decision on what to eat (he misread the text)... which eventually causes him to die of starvation.

now i know i just told you what happens, but let me assure you it is well worth the 2.5 hours to just sit down and watch the film. the scenery is beautiful, and the director (sean penn) did a great job of telling the story with the camera. many of the characters remind me of people i know, which seemed to make it more personal for me while i was watching it. anyway, it is on PPV right now, so rent it (or buy it) if you are looking for a good movie. (just remember, it is not a comedy or an action, it is a very tragic drama.)