Bunny Movies: Into the Wild

Into the Wild (2007) may be a little boring to some people, including me. The fact that the 148 minute long movie is based on a true story might make the movie more meaningful, but it doesn't make the movie itself more interesting. Depicting how a university graduate abandons all his possessions and even his identity as Christoper Johnson McCandless in order to "walk into the wild" and embrace nature, the protagonist learns an important lesson, so important that it costs his life.

One thing I like about the movie has to be the scenery. The director Sean Penn continuously takes long shot of the protagonist in nature, emphasizing his solitude. I especially love the shots of the back of Alex and the beautiful nature in front of him. Penn likes to plays with light too. There are many scenes that I am stunned by the perfect amount of sunlight taken in that makes the scenes almost magical.

At first, I liked the idea of abandoning the old identity (Christopher Johnson McCandless) and the birth of the new self (Alexander Supertramp). A very nihilistic theme lies under the words of our hero. Giving up his career, his wealth and even his family ties makes him a carefree voyager. On the way, he meets people and befriends them. But as the bonding is built, he has to leave them. Alex tells one of the friends he meets during his journey, an old one, Ron Franz that "you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships". He enjoys the excitement brought by new experiences that blinds his ability to see the truth (which is revealed in the end of the movie). 

The reason Alex wants to leave this "sick society" is mainly, from my understanding, his unhappy family. I guess the always-arguing parents give him a false impression on human relationship that "every fucking person is so bad to each other so fucking often". However, as Alex goes on the adventure, the people he meets are all deeply attached to him. It broke my heart to see the separations as I was watching the movie. Little does he notice that once judgement and power struggle are put aside, bonding can easily be built even if they are merely wandering strangers. And so he leaves, he makes it to the destination, Alaska, which also brings him to the ultimate destination, death.

Right before his death, his epiphany, the truth, comes to him. He writes on a book, "Happiness only real when shared". There, the sub-text of the movie suddenly turns from a post-modern notion of human relationships to a humanistic one. The images flashes in his mind are the faces of the people he meets and him running into his parents' arms. He finally realizes that the excitement brought to him during the new experiences won't even exist if there is no one to share with. He finally realizes that it is his friends who make the journey enjoyable all along. I guess Chris in the real life would love to share his experiences with his family if he could leave Alaska alive.

To me, the ending of Chris' life or the movie is a tragic one. It takes him everything, even his life, to find out what he looks for is always with him, but he fails to recognize it. However, in the movie, Christopher dies with a smile on his face, with "God's light shining through him" (as told by Ron). What the director intends to portray is the ultimate victory of our hero, the answer of the truth, which is the true meaning of love.

I guess the reason I find the movie rather boring is the lack of development and tension. While watching the movie, I kept questioning Chris' irresponsibility and selfishness to leave his family and make them suffer from the loss. Like I said, it broke my heart to see Chris leave the people who are emotionally attached to him. The fact is, I never undervalue the importance of human relationships. So spending 148 minutes of my life to tell me what I already know seems to be a waste of time. But I won't put it that way because well, it is a true story, and there are a lot of people out there who fail to recognize the beauty of human relationships.