Was he a fool to go into the wild so unprepared, or was his drive to realise a dream and to pursue his adventure a worthier expression of the human spirit?

I don't know, but this is an amazingly thoughtful and emotional film about a young man defiantly choosing his own path in life, and letting it lead him even into perilous danger. In part a road movie with flashbacks to the family strife that in part made him leave on his journey, Emile Hirsch gives a career best performance as Christopher, determined never to compromise on how he wants to live, (in the wild of Alaska, surrounded by the vastness of nature) despite the alternatives offered to him by others (a hippie couple, the possible love of a young woman, and a lonely old man) who give him shelter and support along the way. In fact the scene where he and the old man (Hal Holbrook) leave each other for the last time, the man desperately wanting him to stay, is so heartbreakingly done it has to be seen.

Visually,… more »

Was he a fool to go into the wild so unprepared, or was his drive to realise a dream and to pursue his adventure a worthier expression of the human spirit?

I don't know, but this is an amazingly thoughtful and emotional film about a young man defiantly choosing his own path in life, and letting it lead him even into perilous danger. In part a road movie with flashbacks to the family strife that in part made him leave on his journey, Emile Hirsch gives a career best performance as Christopher, determined never to compromise on how he wants to live, (in the wild of Alaska, surrounded by the vastness of nature) despite the alternatives offered to him by others (a hippie couple, the possible love of a young woman, and a lonely old man) who give him shelter and support along the way. In fact the scene where he and the old man (Hal Holbrook) leave each other for the last time, the man desperately wanting him to stay, is so heartbreakingly done it has to be seen.

Visually, director Penn shows us an at times stunningly beautiful world, yet also shows, particularly in Alaska, that danger is never far away. As Hirsch travels from healthy and tanned, to emaciated (after being trapped by the land he sought out) it's impossible not to be moved, and horrified, especially when he realises his simple but deadly mistake, and his fate.

It's just impossible not be moved by this film, and I'd recommend it to anyone.