Into the Wild

A boy ventures into the wild to learn more about himself and others

Directed by Sean Penn, this movie captures the true story of a boy who journeys into the wild. Coming from a conservative background and having mixed feelings about his family, the boy decides to donate his college funds to Oxfam, fool his parents that he is going to college, and then ventures into the wide open world.

It is strange movie, as it asks many questions, ranging from good or bad parenting, individuality and taking risks, amongst other things. Yet the true theme that stands out is rebellion. We see a bright boy take his life into dangerous situations, purely because his parents we not good parents. Call it delusional or perhaps just his perspective that drives him to do this, but he does hold a grudge towards his parents.

As we seem him battling rapids, going over borders, and having not anything to drink and eat, the movie shifts backwards and forwards to how his parents are dealing with the fact that their son run away from everything. There is such agony in the images we see of them, and you have to ask yourself why he needed to do this. This issue is not so confusing in the film, as we see him telling his story in a logical manner, yet it seems illogical because every wrong move he seems to make him spiral down, and worse.

You have to ask yourself, if this wasn’t a true story, but just something fictional, then it wouldn’t really matter. Yet, rather than seeing him as a hero, I saw him as a fool. As a kid, and he is just a kid, because he is so naïve and too sure of himself, that he had so much going for him, and he wastes it by being resentful towards his parents. This is unfortunate, as we see some remorse, and it would have been tough for his parents to deal with.

This is not to say that this film was absolutely terrible and one that I wanted to walk out. Or that it was, more confronting than other films I have seen over the years. Yet, I am a harsh critic, and if the film had been directed by someone else other than Sean Penn, than I would have a different opinion.

Despite admiring Sean Penn for taking risks, and making many slow and painful films, I think this film falls short of a masterpiece, that could have been told another way. If the story was told by French filmmakers and less emphasis was smeared over the “poor parenting” forcing him into the wild, then this film would have been more successful. The French directors spend more time on characterisation, definition, dialogue and have better actors. The cinematography was good, and there are many touching moments in the film, especially when the young boy spends time with the old man. These scenes are poignant and tear-jerking, yet the old man shines more than the young boy.

But, I was upset because I had a “here we go again” and “just another cliché” about being upset about the “Joneses” or white picket fences that so often we have seen in American films over the years, like in American Beauty. I’ve asked other people’s opinions on the movie and they enjoyed it. Some of the people asked had watched David and Margaret, who surprisingly gave the movie five stars, so this must have a huge impact on their liking towards the film. Who knows though? David and Margaret could have had monetary incentives in giving the film five stars, I suppose the only way to find out is to check their bank statements.

How can we though? Given that they liked the film so much, they have probably donated their money to Oxfam, and gone into the wild themselves!!!

Movie details