Sean Penn Into The Wild

Into the Wild Film Analysis
Into the Wild filmed by Sean Penn is about a nineteen year old who sets his sights for Alaska. On the way he has many adventures ranging from abandoning his car, identity, and money in a storm ditch; to working on a plantation; to meeting Rainey and Jan (on two separate occasions); to kayaking on the Colorado River; to climbing the Devil’s thumb; to his final destination the “Magic Bus” (Into the Wild, Penn) In each place learning more about Christopher, his past, and his ideals. He can be described as sensitive, unattached, wise, extremely intelligent, and an extremist. He was heavily influenced by the works of authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Jack London. As truths about Christopher’s life come to light, it becomes easy to understand his idealisms and the struggles he encounters. Such as the journal entry he wrote shortly before his death stating “Happiness [is] only real when shared.” (Into the Wild, Sean Penn). Christopher Mccandless (Emile Hirsch) evidently has a fear of intimacy with others, rooting from his family problems, and spreading into his relationships with the people he meets along his journey; this is further displayed by Penn through a close-up on Christopher as he recites Thoreau, and in the final …show more content…
As his food supply runs out, Christopher become dependent on the land for nutrition. He goes plant hunting and identifies what he believes to be a potato root, after eating a considerable amount of root, he becomes very ill, his body begins rejecting both water and food. Looking back in his plant identification book, he comes to the realization that he was eating a poisonous pea plant root. The oblique angle helps us to empathize with his discombobulated state. The flashbacks show the tragedy of his life, but focuses on the beauty, and love, regardless of the pain, it was always