i just saw into the wild.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun · February 2008

NoelMichael wrote:

Hey thanks for the spoiler warning

isnt there a statute of limitations on these things? the movie has been out forever

Troubled Soul · February 2008

hobbes wrote:

and i must say that i can't believe how he was portrayed at the end as a kind of hero for someone who basically comitted suicide.

he was stupid. arrogant. and the antithesis of everything the authors he thought he understood spoke of. he had everything he was looking for. people loved him. people missed him. the only part i thought was really fitting was when he knew he was dead and he knew he had made a mistake. happiness is only real when it is shared (or whatever he wrote along those lines).

if it takes death for that kind of epiphany then i don't want one..what a waste of life.

How is accidentally eating an edible root that had a toxic mold on it suicide? The whole point of the movie was missed by you obviously.

Kel Varnsen · February 2008

CantKeepFukinUp wrote:

Either you get it, or you don't.

And to say he may have had a mental illness is bullshit. Doing what he loved, even though it was dangerous, is crazy? Sounds like any big wave surfers or extreme sportsman is mentally ill then.

I think the guy had mental illness or is extremly dumb. I don't think doing what you love even though it is dangerous is dumb. But I think trying to do it without having any idea of what your doing is incredibly stupid. I mean from what I read this guy knew very little about how to survive out doors. You bring up big wave surfers as a comparison, but I don't think any surfer starts out doing 40 foot waves. And a big wave surfer will usually have a guy on a wave run to help them out in case of danger.

This guy went to Alaska with limited training and had no one to bail him out in case of emergency, it is totally not the same thing.

EddiE · February 2008

Can I just ask one thing....would you guys have gone to see the film if Eddie hadn't've done the soundtrack?

NMyTree · February 2008

hobbes wrote:

and i must say that i can't believe how he was portrayed at the end as a kind of hero for someone who basically comitted suicide.

he was stupid. arrogant. and the antithesis of everything the authors he thought he understood spoke of. he had everything he was looking for. people loved him. people missed him. the only part i thought was really fitting was when he knew he was dead and he knew he had made a mistake. happiness is only real when it is shared (or whatever he wrote along those lines).

if it takes death for that kind of epiphany then i don't want one..what a waste of life.

Maybe the story is more about appreciating what you have (family, friends , love ..etc).

People tend to take things and the people in their lives for granted and seem to lose that perspective.

Regardless of what the author/writers intended, sometimes there are good lessons, reminders and wisdoms within the story, that maybe they didn't really mean to be the main storyline or focus; but no less significant.

Qube · February 2008

chris was a dick...and an overthinker. he overthought the concept of society and only grabbed the negatives (that's my take, though i din't walk in his shoes) he was selfish with relationships, but that was his right

i don't think the book or movie made him to be a hero. he had nature lust (the montages try to portray a lot of that). i don't get the suicide take, he walked into nature overconfident...not to die. he tries to save himself, but can't. In the end of the movie he seems to make peace with who his "society" self is, i don't remember if that's true in the book.

btw: love the f'n soundtrack even if some of the songs do seem like the cliff note versions

i am a target · February 2008

Troubled Soul wrote:

How is accidentally eating an edible root that had a toxic mold on it suicide? The whole point of the movie was missed by you obviously.

he went out there totally unprepared to stay as long as he did. going to alaska with a bag of rice and a .22? eating plants will only get you so far and a .22 is useless when there isn't anything to shoot.

so no map. not enough supplies....brings me to call it an indirect suicide.

tie-dye lady · February 2008

I'm reading the book, haven't seen the flick yet. He treckked around the lower states for, what, 2 years before going to Alaska. In any case, it's a brilliantly researched story of a person who wanted to cut himself away from what was his life to feel life down to the core for whatever that meant to him. He went there to die - figurativly or literally. To strip away to his very core and feel nature and life down to the vibrational level knowing he didn't have enough of anything to survive. He was smart enough to know he didn't bring enough yet he put his trust in nature that he would survive long enough to achieve a certain state of being and either die or be rescused. The goal of his journey, IMO, was to truly feel all and see all unembumbered by everything, anything, that his life was. He opened up to let go and in letting go he let go of his life.

Would I have read the book or seen the movie if Ed hadn't done the score? Maybe. I was drawn to it by the music and by the discussions I've read here. Would it matter either way?

i am a target · February 2008

i had friends who read the book years and years ago that told me i should (i haven't yet and don't think i will). the only reason i went and saw the movie was my friend from out of town wanted to...i'm not a huge fan of the soundtrack..at all..so in the end Ed had nothing to do with me seeing it.

Colors of Musid · February 2008

hobbes wrote:

and i must say that i can't believe how he was portrayed at the end as a kind of hero for someone who basically comitted suicide.

he was stupid. arrogant. and the antithesis of everything the authors he thought he understood spoke of. he had everything he was looking for. people loved him. people missed him. the only part i thought was really fitting was when he knew he was dead and he knew he had made a mistake. happiness is only real when it is shared (or whatever he wrote along those lines).

if it takes death for that kind of epiphany then i don't want one..what a waste of life.

How many people a year trek into the wilderness? How many die?
How many people get into cars? How many die? How many do they kill?

People who walk free on this earth may die. People who drive on this earth may die and may kill.

Which is worst?

The Outside Mag. reporter who wrote the book wrote that he died of a sad mistake as old as human interaction in nature. He ate the vicious historic 'LOCO' compound by assuming the seeds of a plant with edible tubers had edible seeds as well. The author said that this chemical and his low weight did him in.

A sad tragedy like a bad turn on a blind curve. He paid for his innocent mistake do you rub it in!

tie-dye lady · February 2008

hobbes wrote:

he had everything he was looking for. people loved him. people missed him..what a waste of life.

That's the point...I think he felt he didn't have anything his soul desired. He was not fulfilled with his life or his relationships or with the path he was going. He was trying to connect to people and nature on a different level. He choose a different path. It's that simple.

A waste? I don't know...look at all the discussions. He's been gone for 15 years and people are still talking about him, his life, his experience.

Huh, a waste? Right? Wrong? It's all about perspective.

Kilgore_Trout · February 2008

yah i dunno if they were trying to make him into some holden-esque lovable asshole but to me he just came off as completely selfish... there were some spectacular parts to the movie tho! and the fact that it is a true story helped me to look past the ending and still appreciate it for the cinematography and the music and the acting, which i thought were all very strong

blondieblue227 · February 2008

Well I took my mom this week. my 2nd time. I can’t believe it’s still playing! And the theater was pretty full even for a late showing on a sunday night!

Here’s her take on it, I wanted to share it with you:
In the 60’s everybody wanted to live like that in Slab City. By choice, not because they were homeless. After WWII men came home and it was all about the American Dream. Working hard having a huge house, having this and that. In the 60’s people went, ‘hey, who says we need all that?’ But they were some who still fed into that whole material thing and worked their asses off. Thou now we have a generation that has gone to far to that extreme. Want, want, want, but don’t want to work for it because our parents did the working for it and gave to their kids.

Then she said how she was furious with his parents. (about the secret double life thing) Then I brought up it seems to me fatherhood has really gone downhill. She agreed. It’s not about working 24/7 to give things to your kids, it’s about being there and being a good role model.

______________

he lived his life the way he wanted. which was a beautiful thing. much better than dying a drug junkie. now THAT'S a waste.

eyedclaar · February 2008

hobbes wrote:

and i must say that i can't believe how he was portrayed at the end as a kind of hero for someone who basically comitted suicide.

he was stupid. arrogant. and the antithesis of everything the authors he thought he understood spoke of. he had everything he was looking for. people loved him. people missed him. the only part i thought was really fitting was when he knew he was dead and he knew he had made a mistake. happiness is only real when it is shared (or whatever he wrote along those lines).

if it takes death for that kind of epiphany then i don't want one..what a waste of life.

Some people are as ignorant as they are judgemental. Chris wasn't trying to die, he was trying to live. He made a mistake and sadly it was in a place where your margins of error are very slight. God, I have spent a bunch of time in the wild because I was free and I didn't have to deal with insufferable opinionated pricks. On many occasions, I could have died, but it wasn't because I was trying to; it's because the risks of really living are worth the reward. I know my friends and famly would have understood if an accident had occured but I'm sure a ton of jackasses out there might read the headline and decide I was stupid and selfish. Lead, follow, or get the fuck out of the way.

i just saw into the wild.

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