Into the Wild
2007 · Directed by Sean Penn
Original language: English
- adventure
- drama
The story
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
What it’s like
Wide, sun-scorched American landscapes give way to cold, silent Alaskan wilderness, shot with a restless, handheld immediacy that keeps the camera close to its drifter's face. The palette shifts from dusty desert gold and cornfield green to bleached tundra white and the deep greens of the bush, with Eddie Vedder's folk-rock and plaintive acoustic songs threaded between long stretches of wind, river and birdsong. Its vibe is restless yearning with a bittersweet, open-air melancholy, best suited to a long-haul flight, a late-night solo watch, or a reflective weekend when you want to feel the pull of the open road. The pacing moves in loose, episodic bursts: a string of roadside encounters with drifters and families, then long solitary stretches in the wild. Its emotional register is wistful and searching, following a young man slowly and painfully confronting his own certainties and the people he has left behind. Starvation, a fatal accident and a few moments of rough, tense outdoor danger appear, but the violence is brief and not gory; the dread comes from isolation and hunger rather than bloodshed. Strong language and some nudity occur, and sexual content is limited. It suits viewers who want contemplative, character-driven drama about freedom, family and the cost of running away from it.
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