Into the Wild yet anyone?

[Chugach001]

Now Showing in Manchester, VT.

Into The Wild opens in Manchester, VT. on Friday the 16th. Thank God, I'm glad I'll get to see on on the big-ish screen before it goes to DVD.

 

[timmus]

Just saw it last night.


He was speaking to himself, had no attraction for girls at all (did Penn created the 16yo girl ?), had the desire to live alone in the wild, while having very good social skills, and decide to abandon his sister knowing she needed him...

Looks like mental illness to me.
Or maybe he was just a young guy with a stupid idea.

The book might be closer to reality thought. I'll try to find it in french.

 

[Gris]

HmmmmMMMM

he was speaking to himself -

PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE WHO SPENDS MORE THAN A FEW DAYS ALONE STARTS DOING THIS. TAKE A WEEK ALONE IN THE WILDS AND SEE IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO YOU... ;-)

had no attraction for girls at all -

IN THE MOVIE IT SEEMEND HE WAS ATTRACTED, BUT JUST DIDNT WANT A ONE NIGHT STAND W/ A WAY YOUNG GIRL (AT LEAST THAT WAS WHAT I GOT FROM IT)

had the desire to live alone in the wild, while having very good social skills, and decide to abandon his sister knowing she needed him...

FWIW, SHE KNEW VERY WELL WHAT HE WAS UP TO, BUT (IN THE MOVIE) WAS COMPLICIT IN HER SILENCE (VICARIOUS REBELLION?)...

Looks like mental illness to me. Or maybe he was just a young guy with a stupid idea.

WHAT I GOT FROM THE BOOK AND THE MOVIE WAS THAT HE WAS A VERY SENSITIVE TYPE WHO WAS DEEPLY WOUNDED AND DISALLUSIONED BY HIS CRAPPY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER. AND HE WAS AN INTELLIGENT SOUL AND DEEP THINKER. MOST DEEP THINKERS AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFE STRUGGLE WITH THE SAME GENERAL ISSUES HE DID. THAT IS, WHAT IS THE NATURE OF TRUE HAPPINESS? DOES IT COME FROM WITHIN? dOES IT COME FROM WITHOUT? DOES IT COME FROM WITHIN BUT HAVE NO MEANING UNTIL JUXTAPOSED WITHOUT, AGAINST OTHER HUMANS? DOES GOD EXIST? IF SO, IS HE ANTHROPOMORPHIC, OR IS GOD NATURE OR VICE VERSA?

...

I CAN'T KNOW IF I WOULD HAVE ENJOYED THE MOVIE (I DID) IF I HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY READ THE BOOK (WHICH I DID). THE BOOK BY ITSELF WAS EXCELLENT THOUGH. BUT NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE, YOU WON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED THE BOOK W/O SEEING THE MOVIE FIRST (BECAUSE YOU DID SEE THE MOVIE FIRST).

GRIS OUT...



The book might be closer to reality thought. I'll try to find it in french.

 

[giggy]

giggys POV -

read the book - boring story to me to be honest

nothing exciting about a dude living in a old bus off the cross bronx expressway or alaska. Just b/c the alaska has pretty mountains - the story is still disturbing.

not to mention wasting the education his parents gave him or leaving his sister, etc..

I don't recall the one night stand in the book? Every single guy I know/knew in their early 20's - would have taken care of that business for sure. Chris might not be all that normal

as my father in law from ireland would say - "what a waster"

 

[Gris]

Ahhhh

but didn't he "see the light" and wasn't he on his way to rejoin family & society - but for not being able to cross the river...?

if every 20 YO dude who made bad choices was written off for life. well... not many of us would survive that test...

 

[timmus]

but didn't he "see the light" and wasn't he on his way to rejoin family & society - but for not being able to cross the river...?

(I'm sorry if I repeat something that have been said previously in the thread, I didn't read it all.)


He knew from the beginning that he would come back eventually, he said he'd write a book about his trip. Maybe he was dreaming of becoming successful, maybe the boy also liked the money, just like his parents

IMO, this movie is not a critic of our society, it's just another Hollywood movie telling the sad story of a young ambitious guy who got unlucky.

I enjoyed it, I contained my tears when he didn't said yes to his wannabe grandfather. I think he was pretty selfish (maybe that's why women were absent in his life)

I think the guy learned by himself why humans one day decided to live in society. He tought living alone in the dirt under a tarp was good enough, and realized too late he needed others, not only to share hapiness but also to help him get out of a bad situation.

 

[Jay H]

Just in case somebody hasn't read the original 1993 article about the book and about McCandless in Outside Magazine, they have published the article on their website:

http://outside.away.com/outside/features/1993/1993_into_the_wild_1.html

Jay

 

[erugs]

As the mom of a 23 year old who is still finding himself (gratefully I do know where he lives and am in contact with him), this movie about a young man of the same age was very moving to me. I loved the music so much I downloaded the deluxe version from iTunes, only to find it had a bug -- two minutes from my favorite song, Guaranteed, are missing. If you buy the less expensive version, you get an "easter egg" of two additional minutes in the middle of him humming and strumming. iTunes refunded my money and said they will look into the problem, so it might be fixed by now.

 

[Chip]

nothing exciting about a dude living in a old bus off the cross bronx expressway or alaska. - "what a waster"

So true. Acquiring said bus on the Cross Bronx might be an exciting story, though, as it'd undoubtedly be previously occupied.

Too bad our kids are well adjusted and loved; they'll never have a book written about them.

 

[Jay H]

I bet the average dude has a better chance of surviving winter/spring on a bus in Alaska than on a bus on the Cross Bronx "expressway"

Jay

 

[dentonfabrics]

For those who haven't seen it or for those who want a second look, "Into the Wild" gets released on DVD this Tuesday, March 4, 2008.

 

[forestgnome]

My wife gave me the book for Christmas. She saw it in a bargain bin. IMO, it's a boring story by a boring writer. The character is just another wanderer who throws away opportunity that billions of humans only dream about. He spends a short time on a trail, then comes back out of the woods. He eventually winds up in Alaska in the last .01% of his life and fails to survive. The character is not an outdoors person. The story has nothing to do with wilderness until the very end, and I find the character to be without respect or understanding of nature.

The story has appeal to many people, but for reasons other than wilderness adventure. There is almost no wilderness adventure in this story. At the very end, the character is in wilderness but he's living in an old abandoned bus for a few months as he slowly dies.

The title of the book had me thinking it was full of wilderness adventure. You could do better by searching TRs on hiking websites.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

Thanks for the synopsis; now I don't have to read it....

 

[carole]

I recently saw the movie (on DVD). I had read the Outside magazine article years ago, never read the book and wasn’t sure I wanted to see the movie. I knew the ending and I don’t like sad endings. But having watched it I did enjoy it for the story that was told…and this is because it is a story that is happening all around us daily.

Rough childhood, anger with parents, seeking answers, touching people’s lives, looking for happiness and peace. Many are living alone whether ‘in the wild’ or amongst the masses. I saw the story as that of two people, Alex and his sister. They opted for different courses, but who found happiness or peace? Both, neither, one or the other? I do not know. But the story made you think.

 

[BlackBuffalo]

Great book. Movie was very good.

Hate to change the subject but, Walk in the Woods. Is it ever going to be a film? I heard Newman and Redford were to do it, some time ago???

 

[roadtripper]

Great book. Movie was very good.

Hate to change the subject but, Walk in the Woods. Is it ever going to be a film? I heard Newman and Redford were to do it, some time ago???

They acknowledged this rumor a few years ago, but I believe they gave up on the idea. They admitted that their ages were getting in the way (Newman is now 83 (and is also suffering from cancer) and Redford is 72).

If this project does move forward, I doubt they'll be the stars. I guess we are just stuck with only The Sting & Butch Cassidy. Too bad those are the only two movies they got to work on together. They had phenominal chemistry.

 

[poison ivy]

They acknowledged this rumor a few years ago, but I believe they gave up on the idea.

In January, Redford announced that "A Walk in the Woods" was going to be his next project. Click here. (The above article says he'll both star and produce. Imdb lists the movie as being in pre-production, which means it may or may not happen, I guess.)

 

[roadtripper]

Anyone think it might be a good idea to hit the A.T. before the movie is released? I'd think that the number of attempts would at least double/triple a year or two after the movie.

The majority of the public doesn't really have a good understanding of the A.T., but they may after this film.

 

[Maddy]

Rough childhood, anger with parents, seeking answers, touching people’s lives, looking for happiness and peace. Many are living alone whether ‘in the wild’ or amongst the masses. I saw the story as that of two people, Alex and his sister. They opted for different courses, but who found happiness or peace? Both, neither, one or the other? I do not know. But the story made you think.

Really good observations, Carole. It really does "make you think."

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

least favorite book

A Walk in the Woods? You mean the Bill Bryson book? I hope not - that was a poorly written (but funny, I suppose) book by someone who didn't even bother to do most of the trail (NOTE: I read the book several years ago, I don't remember many details of the novel, and don't care to read it again because I do remember how I felt after the read and have better things to do now with my time). I viewed the book as an essay by an ignorant city boy who couldn't be bothered to prepare properly or to take the AT seriously. Maybe this should be a separate thread...