Into The Wild

Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) is tired. Tired of life, tired of society, tired of responsibility, tired of feeling trapped, tire of this world. So he leaves everything behind (his car, his life savings, his family, his future) and goes on a whirlwind journey that lasts two years and ends in the wilds of Alaska. This is a true story based upon the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. This is an epic journey Into The Wild.

On his travels, McCandless changes his name to Alexander Supertramp. He is changing his identity. So why does he feel the desire to be someone else? What is he running from? We soon discover that McCandless' childhood was rough, and in his opinion it was all a lie. His father was actually married to someone else the whole time, so McCandless considers himself a bastard. Plus, their home was full of strife and abuse. He does have some deep and troubling wounds, and we can sympathize with his desire to get away from it all. McCandless' desires resonate with all of us at some level. His desires are primal. He wants truth, purity, "real life" that this society we live in tends to stifle. In some sense, he wants to go back to Adam and Eve's state in the Garden before the fall. We as a human race retreat from the world in many ways, but it is all because of the pain and sin in the world. This human world is truly jacked up.

The storytelling style is non-linear, following two parallel veins. First, we see McCandless at the "magic bus" in Alaska, all alone. This is near the end of his life. Then we see frequent flashbacks as to how he got there. He meets various people along the way, from Arizona to South Dakota to California. The most interesting (and last) meeting is with an old man named Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook). Ron's wife and son were killed in an accident 35 years ago. He has not truly interacted with the world since. These two make for an odd pair. One day McCandless convinces the elderly Franz to climb to the top of a hill for a great view. While there Franz tells McCandless that he has to stop running from his past. He has got to forgive (and that is really what he is running from). Franz says "When we forgive, we love, and when we love, God's light shines on us." Right then the sun peeks its head out from behind the clouds, as if God is saying "I agree." Unforgiveness tears us apart. Even though others have hurt us, if we hold on to the anger and pain instead of accepting the healing that only comes from Jesus,we only hurt ourselves all the more. Forgiveness is very difficult sometimes, but it is essential in order to be whole again.

McCandless' search for true freedom is a common one, but ends in an ironic twist. His search, as he so eloquently puts by quoting Thoreau, is about truth. The truth is that when we throw off everything we have ever been and known we actually end up feeling trapped. True freedom, as Christ says in John 8:32, comes from obedience to someone greater (Christ himself). Another example of the upside-down world that Christ preaches and calls us to live. We have to trust him when things don't make sense. True freedom comes when we put Him in charge of our lives so we can be free to be ourselves in Him.

Another one of McCandless' epiphanies, as written in his diary just before death, reads like this: "Happiness only real when shared." He has ultimate "freedom" from the world and any other human relationships and responsibilities. But the truth is that this life was designed to be done in community. We are not whole when we are alone. We do have some value in being alone for a time, but true life must be done in the context of a group. Sadly, this tragic hero does not realize these truths until the end of his life, and he dies alone (don't worry, I didn't give anything away, we go in knowing he dies).

Into The Wild is truly an epic journey into the heart of what makes us human. It is a trek across our continent, but also across our souls. The themes investigated and expressed in this film are fundamental to all of us throughout all of history. Let us take this journey with our hero, and find out a little bit more about ourselves in the process.