All 3 of my daughters were home last night -- such a joy (Lisa is in from Rockford, IL for a few days) -- and after dinner we watched the movie "Into the Wild." Have you heard anything about it?
It is a powerful and very moving film based on the real life story of Christopher McCandless, who graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, gave his $24,500 savings to Oxfam, and started traveling around the country in search of ... he didn't know. Truth, I suppose.
A brilliant student, he was haunted by his parents' dysfunctional marriage and vowed to live an extreme life.
The film shows McCandless' road adventures through the southwest and Mexico, California, and ultimately living in the wilds of Alaska, shooting game and living off the land.
Throughout the film, there is a sadness, and an emptiness. He is a good young man, bright and well-read and exceedlingly well-intentioned, but troubled enough to literally burn the cash he had in his pocket in order to face the challenge of living solely on his wits.
He talked about God but he didn't really know God. That's the saddest part. He didn't have to reject everything, he could have found a place where he would fit in and be fulfilled. He could have studied about God from more experienced searchers. McCandless wasn't the first person to become disillusioned with society and hypocrisy and "the system".
But he was determined to be a loner and try to reinvent the wheel all by himself. That's what was so sad to me -- that this smart and earnest young man with a big heart missed out on so much by shutting everyone out of his life and trying to be his own island. No man is an island.
Here is a link to the IMDB.com listing of the movie.
The film was based on a book by Jon Krakauer. Emile Hirsch plays McCandless (never seen him before but he's been in quite a few films and TV shows) and Sean Penn directed. Nice soundtrack by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and guitar sensation Kaki King.

Toledo, Ohio
March 18, 2008