“And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.” ~ Christopher McCandless
‘Into the wild' is a pleasure to all the lovers of Hollywood cinema. The movie is a beautiful depiction of a strong attitude and a lifestyle against the ever existing norms of human social life. The very opening scene displays a little poem by Lord Byron, which expresses the link that exists between the human and our mother nature. The main lead, who has had a distressed childhood, after having completed his graduation finds it difficult to further sustain the family ties that were as good as dead for him. He chooses to leave everything behind leaving all the material things and lead a life where he can experience it on very ground level entangled amidst the splendour of nature. Going on a never ending expedition of soul searching and finding true happiness with nothing on hand takes him through a roller coaster of experiences he himself wouldn’t have imagined. Although he had a tough time with his parents and had only a little faith left in social bindings, found some of the very beautiful friendships along the journey.
The movie touches so many planes of your understandings that you virtually feel overwhelmed with emotions. The lead was determined to visit Alaska and spend some time there alone surviving, feeling strong, doing things with his bare hands and arranging for food all by himself with nobody to help. As a matter of fact, his state of mind wouldn’t allow seeking anybody around him as this was his soul searching and purpose finding journey. His whole voyage from his house to Alaskan wilderness and his analogue to all characters met throughout has been presented in such a realistic way that the movie looks like you are living your life through the film frame by frame. There is such a powerful web of friendships created surrounding him but even that wouldn’t prevent him from his determined and foreseen goal. At a point in movie he quotes to Ronald Franz “ I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.” The discussion was amazing and unique.
Having reached the Alaskan land he treks down further into the entrails of wilderness and makes a temporary stay out of a bus he found there standing. He spends his days there shooting small squirrels, porcupines etc. for food and had with himself a book on local flora as a guide for medicinal plants. His stay revealed vociferation of achievement as well as a sense of self discovery that he was bound for. However after he tried to return back the water level of the river he crossed had increased so much that he had to again go back and wait. This wait along with scarcity of food and nutrition to the body led his structure become too skinny and eventually his death. A strong message is also left that happiness is real when shared which probably he realized in his final moments. And although had issues with church and religion he thanked God for a happy life.
