Reviews by:
@cine.whispers
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“What if I were smiling, and running into your arms? Would you see then, what I see now?”
Into the wild is an inspirational journey about escape from substantial life and achieving what the film calls absolute freedom and the search of happiness as we follow a young man desperate for escape from his fractured family and the material that he believes has blinded him from the truth, freeing himself from these restraints to seek the truth of his existence.
The film is filled with poems that are as thought provoking as they are inspirational, explorations and portraits of the philosophical side of life and ‘the simple beauty’ of it. Chris seems to be inspired through these poems and continues his journey in hope of observing and practicing the qualities expressed in the literature, in search of spiritual fulfillment, all while experiencing the joy his newfound freedom has brought him. He meets people along the way and shares brief moments of joy with these people before saying goodbye and continuing the journey towards his goal: Alaska.
What I love about this film is that it doesn’t represent these fancy poems and moments without any growth in character aside from that in the audience, only aiming on the audience to feel this emotion through affecting literature and heartfelt dialogue. No, it’s character development is quite impactful, matching the “from want to need” type of character arc where after spending most of the screen time searching for what he thinks he wants, comes to the realization of what he NEEDS. He spent most of the time saying goodbye, not realizing the true happiness comes in the moments he shared with the people that he had bid farewell to. In the beginning his only goal was to go to Alaska in search of happiness for himself, but in the end realizes what he really needs and want are the people he met along the way, and the family he left behind in search of something he never knew he had all along.
Into the wild is by no means a perfect film and is certainly not one to be ranked upon the greatest films ever made, but its philosophical value makes it easy to become one’s personal favorite. The films direction, cinematography, writing and acting all sum together amazingly to create this breathtaking picture that is beautiful and profound both spiritually and visually. Its narrative may be confusing and messy at times, but the overall experience is so affecting and deep the flaws are to be forgiven. In the end it leaves such aftertaste that guarantees a revisit ton the sheer beauty of each moment the film offers. It is as if we have taken this profound journey with him, and is maybe why we shed tears when he does.
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