Into The Wild Takes You on Personal Exploration Via DVD

Into the Wild , a multi award nominated film including Golden Globes, Oscars, SAG, and DGA awards is now out on DVD

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Sean Penn wrote the screenplay and directed this film about Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) , a young man who chucks his cushy life to go on a quest to what one might call "the meaning of life" but really he is seeking freedom from the relationships and obligations of modern day existance. He leaves behind family and life as he knew it and hits the road (sometimes literally) while he seeks the personal revelation that comes from his journey for enlightenment and solitude.

Camping out over the city Based on a true story, Sean Penn has created an interesting movie that captures the attention and could beseen as a "life lesson" that man does not or cannot survive a solitary existance (or in other words, not by bread alone). He intercuts the exploits & adventures of McCandless between the events in Alaska where he ultimately ends up

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Marcia Gay Harden & William Hurt as the McCandless parents

 The ending that Penn has crafted leaves it up to the viewer to decide whether McCandless was on a true journey or a poor sap out of his depth. Check out a video clip from author of INTO THE WILD, Jon Krakauer talking about this book. HERE

 

Playing guitar..

 The cast features Marcia Gay Harden, Wiliam Hurt, Vince Baughn Catherine Keener and Oscar Nominated Hal Holbrook as well as Hirsch and gets great performances out of every single cast member. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) provides an amazing score/soundtrack that in some ways reflect the bleaker aspects of this film and of a young man seeking to relieve himself of the commitment that human relationships require.

What isn't spoken here -- and this might be a spoiler -- is that the ending of the film is NOT how Chris McCandless died. While there were many people that knew Chris McCandless who could have provided more information, Penn chose not to use that insight and to provide a more dramatic movie that denies the truth of the actual events. There is another movie that features people that McCandless knew in Alaska and they participated actively in the movie. More details are available on IMDB.com Available at Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon.com

Stevie Wilson,  Movie Correspondent
Stevie's column is published randomly to  Gather Essentials: Movies
Covering movies, DVDs,  LA Entertainment events (Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes) Interviews, Screenings and Reviews
Stevie Wilson is noted writer for print and online publications and you can find her on gather.com at stevie.gather.com 

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