I just watched Into The Wild...

yellowled24 · April 2008

threefish10 wrote:

I really didn't like the film at all.

it was slow, boring and too long. the wife and i were watching it and i thought, it must finish soon, and i checked the time left on the dvd player and it said over an hour to go, we both almost died.

it's not often i'm just waiting for a movie to finish.

its interesting in the difference of opinions!!
For me, I could have kept watching it, even if it went for 3 hours! I was really into the fact that FINALLY i was watching Into The Wild (we are a bit slow here in Aus) and couldnt wait to see where they put the songs, as I have the CD soundtrack, and was curious what kind of scene they would set each track to.
And Emile Hirsch was GREAT as the lead too, really convincing performance and emotions, alot of screen time for a hot guy...who somewhat resembles Ed...if I squint a tad

yellowled24 · April 2008

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Not off to Alaska, but I am leaving my job... without knowing the path ahead.

well done! Best of luck to you

Rockin Rita · April 2008

I saw the movie over the weekend and i loved it. sean penn should have won an oscar and emile hirsh also.....eddies music was perfect for the movie.....i couldn't stop crying either and than became obsessed with anything i could read about Alex Supertramp on the internet.

yellowled24 · April 2008

Rockin Rita wrote:

I saw the movie over the weekend and i loved it. sean penn should have won an oscar and emile hirsh also.....eddies music was perfect for the movie.....i couldn't stop crying either and than became obsessed with anything i could read about Alex Supertramp on the internet.

i agree! and what a great name eh? Supertramp!

jackrabbit slim · April 2008

I don't know what you people were crying for. I respect alex's quest for freedom but he seemed to be a smart guy. book smart at least, not too smart in the common sense department.
To go into deep alaska without a proper map, inadequate footwear(until a stranger took pity) inadequate food supplies, no real idea how to preserve the meat that you kill, so on and so on, it seems to me his death was inevitable.

Rockin Rita · April 2008

jackrabbit slim wrote:

I don't know what you people were crying for. I respect alex's quest for freedom but he seemed to be a smart guy. book smart at least, not too smart in the common sense department.
To go into deep alaska without a proper map, inadequate footwear(until a stranger took pity) inadequate food supplies, no real idea how to preserve the meat that you kill, so on and so on, it seems to me his death was inevitable.

I can only speak for myself .....i cried b/c i don't think he wanted to die...he wanted to leave and couldn't cross the river....i cried b/c i couln't understand why he left his life...i cried b/c it was sad abd i'm a crybaby anyway

butterfly1 · April 2008

Saw the movie, have but haven't gotten to reading the book yet. Its a great movie in that it is moving. I for one get frustrated that he didn't just walk along the river bank. Or build a raft. He was what 20 miles away from people?
Anyway, regardless of what I think of his end, the movie engaged me, which is the sign of art. Hats off to Sean Penn and crew.

jackrabbit slim · April 2008

Rockin Rita wrote:

I can only speak for myself .....i cried b/c i don't think he wanted to die...he wanted to leave and couldn't cross the river....i cried b/c i couln't understand why he left his life...i cried b/c it was sad abd i'm a crybaby anyway

fair enough, I'm just saying he didn't have to die if only he prepared a little better.

writersu · April 2008

jackrabbit slim wrote:

I don't know what you people were crying for. I respect alex's quest for freedom but he seemed to be a smart guy. book smart at least, not too smart in the common sense department.
To go into deep alaska without a proper map, inadequate footwear(until a stranger took pity) inadequate food supplies, no real idea how to preserve the meat that you kill, so on and so on, it seems to me his death was inevitable.

I agree with the people who posted after you in response to this questions you posed. But also, in regard to why I was moved to tears was because of the following reasons........

that in his heart, he had a yearning for things in his life that went beyond the obvious things that a lot of people might look at and not understand why he wasn't at peace with his own things that were there for his taking...

that his parents were so lost, so changed by his leaving and so damn human that I couldn't help but think about all of the things that happen in life because of other things that happen first...even the unpeasant......usually the most unpleasant.........

and because he had a pure heart that is not something you find most of the time lately........

and in regard to this boy being intelligent, yeah, of course from what we are told in his regard, we know he was, but this is such a deep thing because this yearning went past even knowledge, common sense or experience and more than that, (for me) the pure dream he has of this made me think of the beauty of youth.

writersu · April 2008

NOCODE#1 wrote:

um? what did he find? besides the fact he didnt realize the river would unfreeze and that he cant read the herbology book.

dont get me wrong i loved the film, but i dont see what he found. i thought he died happy.

I think, perhaps, the poster referring to the what he found too late, was the part when he writes, "happiness most real when shared". That was huge I thought and had he made it, I bet he would have made a huge difference in this world due to his passions.

writersu · April 2008

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

You got "HAPPY MOMENT" out of that?

To anyone else who has seen this, did anyone else get this?
I thought the overwhelming point of this was that although his intentions in doing this were in the interest of self-actualization, not only was he being self-absorbed in his pursuits to the detriment of his loved ones, but further his final realization was really that the most important thing in life is human relationships -- man was not meant to be an isolated beast, he is a social animal.

Therefore, i find it a bit peculiar that someone took away a sense of hapiness from the end of this, as if Chris had somehow "found peace" and "died happy doing what he loved" ... didn't they go to great length to detail that he spent his last days miserable and feeling misguided, and that his death was exrutiating and essentialy in vain?

I cried a lot when he died.......

harmless_little_f*** · April 2008

I don't get this whole 'he walked into his own death, he should've prepared a little better' shit. Granted, I haven't got the book. But according to the film, he just ate the wrong fucking plant. He mis-identified a plant. He was doing fine before that. Poor guy.

writersu · April 2008

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

I don't get this whole 'he walked into his own death, he should've prepared a little better' shit. Granted, I haven't got the book. But according to the film, he just ate the wrong fucking plant. He mis-identified a plant. He was doing fine before that. Poor guy.

yeah, I didn't get the "death wish" thing either.

I thought he did a good job most of the time.

but I have a theory on back seat driving that I am always reminded of.......

harmless_little_f*** · April 2008

writersu wrote:

yeah, I didn't get the "death wish" thing either.

I thought he did a good job most of the time.

but I have a theory on back seat driving that I am always reminded of.......

Good call. I wonder if any of us would've done what he did for something we believed in.

writersu · April 2008

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Good call. I wonder if any of us would've done what he did for something we believed in.

yeah, and although I have spoke about this on another thread and don't want to bore others with my passionate take on this again, I just will say that he may have died a very unfulfilled person to die without having have attempted this dream for all we know..........

harmless_little_f*** · April 2008

writersu wrote:

yeah, and although I have spoke about this on another thread and don't want to bore others with my passionate take on this again, I just will say that he may have died a very unfulfilled person to die without having have attempted this dream for all we know..........

Well most people who stay stuck in the corporate machine do just that, don't they; die unfulfilled.

Danimal · April 2008

I think I am going to get Wendy's for lunch.

Gmoney · April 2008

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

I don't get this whole 'he walked into his own death, he should've prepared a little better' shit. Granted, I haven't got the book. But according to the film, he just ate the wrong fucking plant. He mis-identified a plant. He was doing fine before that. Poor guy.

well it's a bit different in the book. they talk to alaskans about what you need to survive in alaska, equipment and experience wise, and many of them thought that they way that alex approached his time in alaska was as if he had no intentions of ever leaving, or surviving very long. And the only reason that he ate the plant was because he was basically on the verge of dying from starvation. had he been able to kill game or id better options for food he wouldnt have been forced to eat those plants. I agree with you though, I don't think he went there thinking he would die there... but at the same time when he went, I don't think he really cared if he did. Him realizing that he did in fact enjoy human company while out there is what truly makes it sad. That damn river... anyways read the book if you haven't!!!!!!!!!!!! in my opinion it's 10x better than this amazing movie.

writersu · April 2008

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

Well most people who stay stuck in the corporate machine do just that, don't they; die unfulfilled.

yeah, that's why it is so important to hold onto the things that make you really get fired up as you get older.

DriftingByTheStorm · April 2008

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

I don't get this whole 'he walked into his own death, he should've prepared a little better' shit. Granted, I haven't got the book. But according to the film, he just ate the wrong fucking plant. He mis-identified a plant. He was doing fine before that. Poor guy.

also.
there is some discussion now that he may not even have misidentified the whole wild potato\ sweet pea ... actually it seems almost certain. I have read this various places, but from wikipedia, here is a summary:

wiki wrote:

Biographer Jon Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death in August, 1992. First, he was running the risk of starvation due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting. [4] However, Krakauer insists starvation was not, as McCandless' death certificate states, the primary cause of death. Initially, Krakauer claimed McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarum alpinum). However, extensive laboratory testing proves conclusively there was no alkaloid toxin present in McCandless' food supplies. In later editions of the book, therefore, Krakauer has speculated a fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola could have grown on the seeds McCandless ate. However, there remains no evidence to support Krakauer's theory, and all forensic data suggests starvation.

Whatever the cause -- starvation, toxic plant, poisonous mold -- it does not detract from the trajedy inherent within this story.

I am not much impressed with all the detractors & critics of McCandless who argue the position that he was merely a fool and an inconsiderate snot for his preventable death. While he certainly was underprepared -- and i see how this is an affront to Alasaka natives -- what upholds his story as a tragedy remains the fact that Chris actually did come to recognize the importance of "happiness [...] shared". Dying utterly alone shortly after such a profound realization, certainly qualifies as "tragic", regardless on the self-imposed nature of the situation.

I just watched Into The Wild...

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