I have always admired individuals that have what it takes to pack their lives into a backpack and set off down the road. When forced in high school to take a class called "discovery," my aversion to camping was made clear. Thus, any adventuring I am destined to do will be in the comforts of modern civilization. But for others, there are no boundaries.

Sean Penn's Into the Wild, based on Jon Krackauer's nonfiction account by the same name, is a powerful and touching tale of one man's quest to leave everything behind and make his own way. 

In 1990, brilliant student Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) graduated from Emory University. However, what Christopher wanted out of his life was the exact opposite of what his family wanted for him. He donated the entirety of his $24,000 savings account to charity, and took off towards the wilderness of Alaska. 

His path to Alaska isn't straight, and along the way he meets several individuals that shape his life and in turn take lessons from him. No one seems to understand why this young man would abandon his family and future for the life of a "leather foot," but Chris is clearly searching for something beyond the middle-class existence that he finds to be hypocritical and masked by lies. 

In the twenty months of life on the road that it takes McCandless, who called himself Alexander Supertramp, to reach Alaska, he submerges himself in self-discovery and examine the world from a fresh perspective. McCandless/Supertramp reflects on his parents' abusive relationship and his troubled childhood (revealed to us through narration by his sister), freeing himself from them and giving himself to the wild. Unfortunately, he discovers upon finally reaching Alaska that he is not physically prepared for the hardships that lay ahead. 

Since Into the Wild is based on a very popular book and real events, I'm not spoiling the ending by saying that Christopher does not return from Alaska. But, as with many tales of free spirits and risk-takers, the point is not the destination but the journey. He forms important relationships along the way, first with aging hippie-vagabonds Jan and Rainey (played by Catherine Keener and Brian H. Dierker) and then with the elderly Mr. Franz (Hal Holbrook). While Jan and Rainey obviously encourage the on-the-road lifestyle, Jan seems to want to keep Christopher close to protect him as if he were the son she doesn't know. Likewise, though Mr. Franz understands Christopher's desire, he doesn't share it and tries to keep the boy with him, even offering to adopt him. 

In the end, it becomes clear that man is not meant to be solitary. We are creatures that, for better or worse, need to be with others like us. Unfortunately for Christopher, this lesson is the hardest to learn and ultimately leads to his demise. The film concludes with his tragic realization that "Happiness is only real when shared." 

Taking several liberties from the true account of this young man's adventure, Into the Wild blurs the line between reality and Hollywood in several spots, but is more or less an accurate representation of actual events. I have not read the book, but from what I understand, McCandless was young and optimistic, but was so excited about experiencing the world through nature that he did not take the time to prepare himself. A series of unfortunate events led to his death, which occurred in Alaska in the summer of 1992 (the film has him dying in the winter). 

With Into the Wild, director Sean Penn has created a very personal and touching story. He here employs a mixture of voice-overs, jump cuts, sweeping views of the landscape, and extreme close-ups. Pay attention for a sequence of jump cuts that shows Christopher eating an apple. Him talking to the apple is one of the few funny moments in the film, but Penn performs an interesting trick at the end: the last cut shows Hirsch smiling for the camera. This breaks both the rising tension in the film and the film's stride, as if to say, "Remember? It's just a movie." 

Penn's handling of how McCandless's family handled the realization that their son had left them is delicate. He balances reality with how McCandless felt toward them well; we see things from both their side and their son's, which aids not only in the understanding of McCandless's motivation but also in the tragedy of his lonely death.

Emile Hirsch, probably best known for his role as the infamous Johnny Truelove in 2006's Alpha Dog, has certainly proven himself with Into the Wild. He has the charisma and believability to carry a film, even one that, like Cast Away for Tom Hanks or this year's I Am Legend for Will Smith, so often finds him alone. 

The film features original songs by Eddie Vedder, none of which were nominated for an Oscar. It is both shocking and unfortunate that the Academy would recognize three -- three! -- songs from a mediocre Disney musical and completely overlook this moving piece. Vedder's voice, though not my cup of tea, fits the film perfectly. One man on the road to nowhere.

Into the Wild is a respectful but honest look at a true account of one man's mission to find himself. The film is at times funny, at times sad, but always moving. The final shot, a still frame of a self-portrait of McCandless shows the real man behind the journey, an optimistic man doomed by his failure to take reality into account.