Review of Into the Wild (2007) by Melvin W — 16 Jun 2013

Christopher McCandless: The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.

"Go with your heart.".

Into the Wild is one of those movies that has so much heart at the core of its story. It's a story of following a path that you choose for yourself and not the one that society tries to dictate for you. It's the story of Christopher McCandless and a true one at that. The film is beautiful and just pure joy to watch. I love these type of movies where we follow an interesting man on a journey. The journey in this one is pretty epic too. It takes us from South Dakota to Arizona, from Mexico to Alaska. Along the way we meet hippies, a beautiful girl that falls for Chris, and an old man that learns to love Chris as his own grandchild. .

Chris, after graduating from college, decides to give all his money to charity, abandon his car and his family, and go out into the wild. He believe that careers are a 20th century invention and he wants no part of that world, and to be honest, I have those same thoughts. This is a story that I believe is extremely important.

This is a Sean Penn directed film and probably the best movie he's ever made. The Pledge was another really good one from him, and The Crossing Guard and The Indian Runner were okay, but nothing like this. The cast is very good as well to go along with Penn's great directing. Emile Hirsch plays Chris and does an extraordinary job. Then there's a supporting cast that includes: Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener, Jena Malone, and Kristen Stewart.

Into the Wild is a must see film and one of my personal favorites. I could watch this movie over and over again, and have as much passion for the story as I did the first time. This should definitely be on the list of films that you need to see before you die, because if you don't, you're certainly missing out on a full blown masterpiece.