Just saw the movie Into the Wild Saturday night. I’m going to warn you right now that I’m going to talk about the whole movie, so if you haven’t seen it, or want to see it, stop reading. I’d hate to spoil it for you the way the lady at Hollywood Video ruined it for me.
We good? Everyone? Ok, moving on.
What a strange movie. It was long, it was boring, but still interesting. While I have great respect for people who are internally motivated and independant and all that, I don’t understand some people’s intense desire to be on their own. This guy in the movie, he goes to college and gets a degree for no apparent reason. I didn’t really understand why he finished school. It seemed to be a favor to his parents, yet it was evident from very early on in the movie that he despised them. He then sets out on this journey across the country without any sort of ID (he either cuts up or burns all his identification) and renames himself Alexander Supertramp. He does some cool stuff, meets some new people and seems to be having a good time. I mean, he became a combine driver, hung out with some pretty cool farmer types in South Dakota, hangs out with some hippies on the pacific coast, and learns how to work leather with a very nice old dude in Arizona. He kayaks down the Colorado River into Mexico, meeting some crazy Norwegians. All pretty cool stuff. Yet in between these good times, he just goes into these modes of complete isolation. I thought it was blatantly obvious that the happiest time in his life were when he was with friends. I’m sure that was the intent of the filmmakers, but you don’t have to look real hard to see this. Seems everyone knew it but Captain Supertramp.
This is where I have a complete disagreement with Mr. Supertramp. It seems that he’s trying to be this totally individual person, not influenced by anyone. Yet he’s constantly reading books for inspiration. He then gets this brilliant idea to move to Alaska and live off the land. Sounds like a good idea, if you’ve got a companion. Why anyone would want to live in complete isolation is beyond me. THAT IS WHAT WE DO TO THE WORST CRIMINALS IN PRISON!!!! This guy does it willingly? Whatever. He seems to be trying to prove something to himself, but really he’s doing it for the approval of others. He wants people to think he’s cool, to admire him. That’s why everyone who does these isolation things always keeps a journal. So they can tell people about it later. Here’s an idea....take them along with you, and then you don’t have to spend the time writing. Of course, the guy is woefully under educated in living off the land and runs into all sorts of trouble. At one point, he seems to finally grasp that not having human interaction or relationships is not fun and decides to head home. Of course, the way he came is blocked by a raging river, and he is forced back into isolation until the river dries up a little bit. Well, he ends up not making it because he can’t find enough to eat, then eats a poisonous plant and dies. Before he dies, he writes "happiness only real if shared." That’s my whole freaking point! What good is it to do things if you have nobody to share them with? I mean, I’m proud of the guy for figuring it out on his own, but I didn’t need to live in an abandoned bus in the middle of the Yukon Territory to figure it out. Also, before he dies, he writes a goodbye note and signs it with his real name. Funny how you remember what’s really important (family) only when faced with death.
I did a little research on this guy, and it turns out that if he’d only taken a map, he would’ve realized that there was a way to cross the river only a quarter of a mile upstream. If he’d learned how to preserve meat properly, he probably wouldn’t have had to eat the poisonous plants. And most importantly, if he’d taken somebody with him, my guess is that the other person would’ve talked some sense into him long before the situation became dire.
So yeah, it was an interesting movie, but now I’m worried that a whole new generation of young people are going to think that doing stuff like this and dying in the outback. I heard that the place he died in Alaska is a tourist attraction. Glad we can all marvel at this guy’s stupidity.
Speaking of stupidity, when I pulled the movie off the shelf, there was a couple of women walking the other way. I had the movie in my hand and hadn’t taken more than two steps when one of these women points to the movie on the shelf and says "you know, I thought that was a good movie, but it just ruined the whole thing when he died at the end." Thanks lady.
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