Visitors Review

davids (2012-05-24 18:12)

A book I read back in 1994

Excellent movie.Alex(chris was an independent spirit)Im very lost for words because im alive and hes notI always had dreams and hitched from texas to boston Gathering great friends that I still talk toIt takes a pretty empathical person to decide on picking up a hiker.Im rubbing my head.Thats just too extreme, his path in life.I respect thatDavid

jelle_vandeweghe (2012-05-24 02:59)

Brilliant Cinema!

A movie is rarely so pure, honest and wonderful as Into the Wild. Not only the excellent acting, the brilliant cinematography and theleading hand of Sean Penn, but also the unique feeling you get whileyou let yourself completely go in this adventure, make this movie atruly masterpiece! Sean Penn proves again that he is not only one of the greatest actors,but also a very talented movie-maker.From the first minute till the last, it takes you to another place. Youhave to let yourself go in this amazing experience and absorb it howyou want. Either you love it or you hate it.

submit-33 (2012-05-22 08:24)

don't send us any more movies where they write with a feather

don't send us any more movies where they write with a feather- commentfrom a distributor in this movie there is writing with a ballpoint penfor ever , plus narration ( which is death ) forever-- this movie waswritten from a book but the screenwriter has no knowledge how totranslate it --it is just a lot of narration and that pen-- this movieis about an entitled child that gives away all his entitled goods andtries to live like the holi polli- the lead child is a college graduatethat took entitle classes in school where as he should have takenfishing classes ( he dies of starvation next to an Alaskan river thatwas and is full of fish) and he should have taken classes in shooting arifle ( he barely can hit a moose)never saw anybody shoot like thischild)-sean penn (another entitled child films it like a childdiscovering he can shoot landscapes)-- not one true moment in thismovie --very long very very long and uninteresting

(2012-05-21 17:12)

Into the Wild

If someone told me that I could never watch another actor create a role, and that I'd have to pick just one to keep with me forever, I would choose Hal Holbrook's role in this movie. What makes a superb actor? Just watch him in this movie and you'll have your answer. He touched me so deeply with his performance, that days later, I am overwhelmed with emotion just thinking about it. This movie pushes everything else aside and gets right to the core of what it means to be human. . .emotions, hopes, dreams, and memories. This is a beautiful film to the eye and to the soul. I have a feeling it will haunt me for a very long time.

(2012-05-21 02:33)

Unexpected Great Movie

I bought this for the wife and I must say this movie is something special.

movieLoader (2012-05-20 10:54)

Fresh air, great cinematography, sublime story in the wild.

It touches on an essential desire we all feel at some point, to bedrawn into and closer to the wild. Or perhaps just a desire to get awayfrom our backstabbing friends in the city.Anyway.. the character breaks free from social expectations and people,and he gets the hell out, and it's good to watch.Inspiring might not be the word, because what he is doing is clearlydangerous and naive. But we are shown how he gains skills andadapts.... and the filming is superb, and editing. There's a strongconnection with nature, truth and sublime truth on many levels in thismovie.

(2012-05-20 03:22)

If You Like The Trailer, You'll Love The Movie

This review is from: Into the Wild (DVD) I have a feeling Sean Penn and I wouldn't be "best buds". But I loved this movie.Almost every scene is suitable for framing. I can't recall the last time I saw such cinematography. The movie's appeal is on so many levels for me. It probably will appeal to you on other levels as well. My surprise hero? Vince Vaughn. This guy can do more with three sentences than most actors with a script. It's a shame we see him mostly in comedies or quirky roles. The lasting memories I carry with me about this movie are that if you decide to go down "the road less traveled" there's a real chance that you won't be coming back. Don't waste your time renting this movie. Buy it, you'll want to see it many times. PS-If the trailer didn't get you, forget everything else I said.

Rob Comber (2012-05-19 08:56)

Wasted potential

I went into this film with a certain amount of caution and it seems tohave been justified. There are two reasons people seem to either loveor hate this film, firstly the character's 'adventure' and ideals, andsecondly the cinematography.I don't think its fair to criticize the film over the ideals of Chris,it is there to tell his story. What I do have a problem with is howtediously Penn tries to make this point. The sister's narration, theletters to Wayne, the 'chapter' titles, they were all so painfullylabored, as if there was some need to give us everything we needed toget from the film. This for me was the greatest weakness of the film;it lacked any subtlety in comparison to say Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy.What Penn seemed to aim for, and which Reichardt could achieve, seemslost in his inability to let things speak for themselves.On the second point I do think the cinematography was beautiful, but Idon't think it was used particularly well. There were a number ofvisual styles imposed across the film and for no apparent reason. Therewere also random shots, planes flying overhead, a lorry passing overthe camera at a Batman villain-esquire angle, that did not sit well inthe overall picture. It seemed to me that Penn was pulling off anamateurish attempt to make his film seem meaningful by overloading itwith shallow symbols and as many visual styles he could get his handson.On a positive note, I thought the film had some real potential, but I'mnot sure how much of this came from Penn. Any of the parts where Chrisinteracts with others were captivating and the relationships that weredeveloped were beautiful. The story could easily have locked onto thesewith much greater enthusiasm and ignored the self-indulgent attempt atbeing 'art-house'.Two films spring to mind as useful comparisons to how awful this filmwas, The Straight Story and Old Joy. Watch either of these and Into theWild pales in comparison.

tomquick (2012-05-19 12:28)

the stories he could have told us

This tears the heart. We grift and stumble to survive and our childrenare the witnesses. What they learn from us, or their schooling, ortheir experiences, forms them and has to get them through. But thehuman spirit is stubbornly selfish. Naive. Methodical. McCandless mayhave shed some of his parent's superficial values (money, socialclimbing, prestige), but the deeper deficiencies remain. It's still allabout HIM.So here he is, struggling both to hatch into adulthood and to stay inhis protective, selfish shell. In a fitting metaphor, he literally diesin that shell - cocooned in a mummy bag, inside an old bus. Yes, he isa fool, but he is our own uniquely American-made fool.It is fitting that many of the characters in the movie save him, byfeeding him and sheltering him, but all this does is delay hisself-destruction. If he had survived, what stories he would have had totell, what a life he would have had to live.Kudos to the actors and the writers. Especially kudos for thecinematography. Ultimately it's the wide-open beauty of America thatbaited and lured McCandless to his doom. Finally many thanks to Ziggyin Anchorage for his excellent belt-work. The belt is a metaphor forthe whole odyssey, tooled in leather, ominously becoming shorter day byday.

bobbobwhite (2012-05-19 02:27)

Like Grizzly Man in his naive love of wildness

A disturbingly interesting film directed by Sean Penn, and very true tothe original book. We all can relate to the true story lead characterChris McCandless(he changed his name to Alexander Supertramp for hissojourns), innocent, naive and youthfully stupid as we all were at thatage, expecting the whole world and it's peoples to be our friend andnurturer and helpfully allow us to create a personal Utopia. Sadly,when we finally grow up, we see life doesn't turn out that way. It'sfilled with a lot of hard work and compromises, which we start to seerealistically somewhere in our mid-20's or so. Alex didn't get oldenough to see that truth, as he and Grizzly Man met the same fate dueto poor judgement coming from just being young and dumb, and not seeingthat their youthful utopian world view must be adjusted, compromisedand modified greatly in order to live successfully later on in thisworld. Even most 60's hippies(the smart ones) who did the same vagabondthing saw that eventually. It seems to be human nature for the young tonever seem to gain much insight from the previous generation'sexperiences even though they are basically very similar down throughthe ages.Just like those 60's hippies, Alex hit the road as a vagabond and fellinto many interesting adventures with oddball characters along the way.The story had all the usual trite causative and motivational bells andwhistles behind it....bad parents(bad I guess because they were richand successful)who did fight a lot, a cloyingly close sister(Hmmmm)whonarrated the story, a liberal college degree, and no money problems atall growing up that may have protected him from the more practicalworld and life views of the less fortunate.Thus the eventual Supertramp wanderer developed a serious hate of ourcapitalistic system(anything better out there?), and decided to livehis life as a road tramp, working temp only when he needed the hateddollar in order to live and travel, and eventually get enough savvy and$$$ to get to Alaska where all the best things in life resided(in hismind)........beautiful scenery, wilderness, living off the land, nopeople, no need for money.........but also, 45 below zero winters,little natural food, no sufficient shelter(an old, uninsulated schoolbus in the middle of nowhere?), no one to talk to or love(he seemedasexual anyway), flooded rivers hemming him in so he couldn't goanywhere else much of the time. As he went to Alaska mostly unpreparedfor anything bad that could happen, it's too bad Chris didn't see afilm like this one to discourage him before he went there and paid forfor it with his life.Emile Hirsch did a great job in the role of Supertramp, as he had theair of innocent confidence that Chris obviously had in order toundertake such a journey. Also, great road characters abounded in thefilm story, with Vince Vaughn and Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrookshowing off as, respectively, a funny and sympathetic South Dakotafarmer... a loving, aging hippie vagabond and flea market rat.... andan old desert-rat retiree who developed intense fatherly feelings forChris and knew that Chris was headed for a bad ending. All helped andcared for Chris along the way as he prepared for his great and finalAlaska adventure. The film had many beautiful scenes throughout ofskies, deserts, rivers, mountains, tundra and ......ofcourse......beautiful, but deadly Alaska for the unprepared.I read the book so I knew the ending..... and just as in Grizzly Man, alot of naive and emotionally-driven mistakes can get you killed, evenif they seemed good at the time. Penn showed all of this well in hisfilm and I recommend it, but don't go if you want a feel-good Hollywoodending, as it definitely does not have it.

Jay Harris (2012-05-17 17:49)

There is good & bad in this movie.

Maybe its because I am much older than many film goers.I cannot overlypraise this film , as some have.The good things first. The production, IT IS EXCELLENTBeautiful cinematography,excellent settings,costumes etc.A very good song score & marvelous acting by all concernedNow the other side of the coin. It is overly long, 148 minutes is about40 minutes too long.The lead character -Chris- is not a likable young man. He is a selfishlad who doesn't even let his parents or his sister know if he is OK.Granted the parents were dysfunctional BUT at least care enough to letthem know you are OK every so often.Emile Hirsch does a superb job as Chris, I just did not care about himor that he perishes.Sean Penn, wrote & directed in his usual fine style. The acting isexcellent by all.This is enough to give the film a passing grade, I expected MORE.Ratings *** (out of 10) 84 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

ibleedcrimson17 (2012-05-17 10:34)

Thank You Mr. Penn for exposing my world to such beauty and honesty

Thought-provoking, moving, caring, TRUTH. These, along with many otheradjectives come to mind when a movie like this is presented to us insuch a beautiful way. An adventure ourselves, we come to know Chris, aboy searching for himself, to becoming a man with wisdom. This moviecan almost change your way of thinking about life. Your decisions, whatyou strive for. And Chris does it. He lives for adventure. Notcautions, not society, not materials. For adventure. If you have thechance, see this movie in theaters. Our town of Mobile, Alabama gotfortunate enough to get this movie. It's crafted wonderfully by SeanPenn and I thank all who was involved for putting this movie together.I enjoyed it greatly.

daninny (2012-05-17 01:20)

Incredible film

Firstly, I want to point out that I had just finished watching thismovie. It prompted me to register on IMDb and write this review. Sothat should mean something. Into the Wild is one of the mostemotionally powerful films I have ever seen, and should be watched byadolescents and parents alike.It is an adventure story about a dedicated spiritual pilgrim filled wholearns his ideas of the world from the people he meets along the way tothe great wilderness he seeks -- as well as all his favorite adventurenovelists. He rejects material possessions and loves the life he isleading, but makes a key error in judgment. He claims to have had agood life, so all in all, the film cannot be looked at as a tragedy.

cafranci (2012-05-16 07:57)

Could have been great

I'll preface my review by saying that the film definitely has greatmoments and redeeming aspects, but I feel that Sean Penn focused toomuch of the story on the physical journey of Christopher McCandless andnot enough on the relationships he has throughout the film. Having readthe book I feel that the most important aspect of the story is how hisparents' relationship affected him and how that in turn affected hisrelationships with all others. Especially because of the ending and themessage it sends the viewer, I think the narrative structure could havebenefited greatly from expanding on the relationships he developedalong the way (and why they always ended with him running away fromcommitment and long term acceptance) and condensing the actual physicaltravel. I realize that the physical journey is a big part of Chris'story, but I feel that all the time dedicated to showing him travelcould have been better spent developing who Chris really was. Sean Penncreated an accurate portrayal of Chris' story, but at the end of thefilm we are still left wandering who Chris really was. The film alsotends to repeat itself unnecessarily, showing Chris go through manysimilar traveling and reflecting situations as well as showing severalshort relationships that consist of not much other than Chris tellingthem that he's "going to Alaska".

(2012-05-15 14:47)

waited a long time for this.....

If you really liked the book or even if you haven't read it, add this to your collection you wont be disappointed. boom..outta-here

joaocruzferreira (2012-05-15 05:42)

Sean Penn's Masterpiece

"Into the Wild" is based on a true story and the bestselling book byJon Krakauer. After graduating, top student and athlete ChristopherMcCandless abandoned all his possessions, gave his entire savings tocharity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along theway, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life.The cinematography of this motion picture is absolutely breath-taking.This is a splendid example of film-making. In addition, I wasparticular blown away by the performances. In fact, to have this youngtalent Emile Hirsch working with the old, veteran Hal Holbrook makesthe film a must-see. Their scene in the truck near the end is one ofthe best pieces of acting I have ever seen, as well as easily the mostmoving scene of the year. The young Emile Hirsch surprised Hollywoodand Penn gets a terrific performance out of him, Catherine Keener,Marcia Gay Harden, Vince Vaughn and William Hurt.Chris' story is worth telling and "Into the Wild" shows this. It is aremarkable film. The two hours and a half are over before you know it,and by then you care not only for the lead character, but for allsympathetic characters we have met on the way.The snubs were tremendous for Sean Penn (Best Directing, Best AdaptedScerenplay), Hirsch (Best Leading Actor) and Keener (Best SupportingActres). Not even Eddie Vedder got any respect for his score and songsor Eric Gautier for his excellent cinematography. No one will everunderstand the Academy. 9/10

(2012-05-13 14:15)

Ouch...

I have to say at first I came to this film through Eddie Vedder (big Pearl Jam fan), and I'm very happy I did.I just watched the movie on DVD, and I have read all the other reviews here, which are much better than mine as far as going into details about the film, great camera work, the history behind the story, Sean Penn's ultimate vision and so on. So I'll just convey what this film did to my emotions, while the bruises to my senses are still raw.I was expecting to have a tough time watching this. Like most people who watched it, I knew the outcome, and felt I was prepared... I wasn't.I really liked this kid, and I felt in a way, what he felt as he went along exploring, whatever it is he felt he had to explore. In getting me along for the ride, this movie works on every level. And the way it brings us back to that buss, little by little, while telling the story leading up to it, jerks you in and out of danger so to speak, so when the final breath is exhaled, you, or atleast I, felt like I was are right there, helpess and unable to stop this from happening. And that's the crux of the whole thing to me, now, 12-15 minutes after the end credits. And when a movie does that to you... It's a work of pure art.To me.As for all the rest. I loved this actor, I loved the others, the hippie couple, the young girl, the old man, Vince Vaughn, the danish couple (I'm half danish, so thanks Sean, for having real danish people speak real danish in your movie!) and the sisters narrating.And on top of it all, there's Eddie Vedder, and it's just so good!Thank you for leaving my feelings raw like an exposed nerve. Feels good to be alive.

mark_lamerton (2012-05-12 21:14)

Long, tedious and drawn out boring movie

This one of those movies where you get bored and start talking toothers - why do others find it so interesting. A movie about a loserportrayed as someone who knew it all. My wife went to bed after 1 hourbut we suffered through till the end. A definite don't waste your timemovie and how it has hit the top 250 movies beats me. It is staggeringthat this movie could be compared with some really great movies. Aftera great movie I am left thinking about it and I would want to watch itagain. This movie is a yawn. Far too many long spaces of nothing beingsaid - you could cut the movie down by 30 minutes (and it soooo needsit). This movie is rated at a staggering 8.3. Mr Penn has the lastlaugh - good on ya.

bobsgrock (2012-05-10 14:34)

An inspirational piece of work.

Sean Penn, one of the finest actors of this decade, has put together amasterful work filled with incredible images and a touching story thatspeaks to us all about the basic essentials of life. Into the Wildtells the story of Chris McCandless, a successful college graduate whogives his money away to charity and goes on a journey heading towardsthe wild, beautiful nature of Alaska. His thinking stems from his homelife, which was not that stable as a child. His parents foughtconstantly, and the alienation he felt from them only drove him toalienate himself from everybody else. He thrives by himself and doessurvive quite well for awhile. While traveling across the Americanwest, he encounters a married couple of hippies, lovingly played byBrian Dieker and Catherine Keener, a young girl who falls for him,played by the remarkable Kristen Stewart, a corrupt farmer played byVince Vaughn, and a lonely old man, portrayed by Hal Holbrook in anOscar-nominated role.All these people influence Chris and he influences them. Penn pacesthis just right and constantly moves back and forth between the climaxof the journey and the events leading up to it. By the time Chrisactually plans to head straight for Alaska, we feel he's seen enough.He feels he hasn't. Chris is a young, idealistic, headstrong young manwho wants to follow in the steps of his heroes: authors Tolstoy,London, and Thoreau. He wants to live off the land, alone, with no needto have contact with society, which he basically shuns. Us beingsociety, it is hard at times to agree with him, but we also are drawnto him, as are most other people in the film. We want him to succeed,but just like Chris, we don't quite know what he is looking for outthere. It may be peace, or freedom, or maybe simply God. Whatever itis, it's something bigger than himself, and he dies in the process.Despite this downcast ending, Sean Penn has made a remarkable film. Thescreenplay goes on a bit too long at times, but the direction isperfect. The cinematography is gorgeous, perfectly capturing theawesome beauty of nature not just in Alaska, but wherever Chris goes.This is a powerful piece of work that is nothing short ofinspirational. If there is any film from 2007 you look up, it should bethis one. It will motivate you to live life to the fullest and findthat, "Happiness is best when shared." Just like Chris.

sovitjaiswal (2012-05-09 22:27)

Spell-bound, speechless & Spectacular....Hats-Off Supertramp...!!!

After i finished watching this movie my first reaction was "WOWWW...ICAN'T BELIEVE WAT I SAW"...How one can make such a sheermasterpiece...Then i read credit & direction was by Sean Penn..Okie NOWits believable tat he can only dare to make movie on such subject,where others r simply tied by action, sci-fi, Rom-com & thrillermovie.. The movie simply reflected how meaningless r materialisticworld & the thing which run after day night & day out...Acting by EmileHirsch was top class & simply outstanding...Direction, Screenplay &Cinematography were the best i have seen till date in movies...I betNot even single moment u wud leave the frame while the movie isrunning...Thanks Sean Penn for making & sharing such a masterpiece & all praiseto the spirit of Supertramp...