Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.October 22, 2007
I confess that I went into seeing Sean Penn’s new movie, Into the Wild very biased. I had read Jon Krakauer’s 1996 book of the same name, and upon which the movie is based, and loved it. Actually, that last sentence is not entirely accurate: I read the book three times and loved it more each time. Krakauer’s superb book tells the real-life story of Christopher McCandless, a recent college graduate who left behind his wealthy but troubled family in order to live a Walden-Pondish existence in the wilds of Alaska. Krakauer, also the author of Into Thin Air, about a tragic mountaineering expedition, is one of the best nonfiction writers around, and his talents help readers feel a genuine affection for the at once maddening and inspiring character of McCandless.

The movie is every bit as good as the book, and has the added benefit of being able to show us the gorgeous scenery that McCandless himself experienced. In this way, his attraction to Alaska makes more sense. Penn’s film also more overtly presents Chris as a Christ figure, with shots of him ecstatically holding out his arms atop a mountain, and assuming that same pose as he floats naked down an icy river. Emile Hirsch, the actor who plays Chris, has said in interviews that he was close to hypothermia after that shot.)

The movie is also far more explicitly religious than was the book. One of the greatest, and simplest, scenes has the hungry McCandless biting into an apple, and saying, “You’re really good. You’re like a hundred, a thousand times better than any apple I’ve ever had. You’re a super apple. You’re so tasty. You’re so organic. So natural. The apple of my eye!” It’s a sneakily touching moment of gratitude and of prayer. And of real awareness. Later on, he befriends an elderly Catholic man, beautifully played by Hal Holbrook, who gives the young seeker some important lessons in the spiritual life. And towards the end of the film, when Chris struggles with starvation, he looks like nothing as much as the Giotto frescoes of Francis of Assisi.

McCandless is a complex figure, at once generous and selfish. He is adamant about always being kind, but also, in his desire to leave behind the “world,” he foolishly leaves behind a family who grieves for his loss. If McCandless, who reinvented himself as “Alexander Supertramp,” is a Christ figure, he’s a disarmingly human one.

The Jesuit with whom I saw the movie didn’t know the ending, and appreciated it all the more for that. So I won’t give it away here (even though it’s been widely reported). So far the reviews have been mixed: David Denby in The New Yorker panned it, but Scott Raab, in a profile of Penn in Esquire, called it “fearless, full-hearted beauty.” There’s a trailer available . I’m curious to know what others may have thought about this provocative story of adventure and discovery. So post your comments below.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
17 years 8 months ago
Father Martin, thank you so much for your review of the film "Into the Wild." I, too, saw Chris as a Christ-like figure and I am still impressed that Chris's last note to those who would find his body--to all of us really--was a prayer. "I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!" Throughout his life, from what I understand, Chris displayed courage and compassion. Some may criticize him by saying that he was more stubborn or foolhardy than courageous or that his turning away from his family was cruel. I think of him as the young man he was, searching for meaning in a world that doesn't always respect those on such a spiritual journey. Chris reminded me very much of the too rare a soul who considers the consecrated life.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV urged new archbishops to help him foster unity in a church rich in diversity. Eight of those new archbishops are from the United States, and they spoke to Catholic News Service about how they can help promote fraternity in today’s polarized world.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Christopher White about his new book, ‘Pope Leo XVI: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy.’
JesuiticalJune 30, 2025
Kerry Weber, incoming president of the Catholic Media Association, and executive editor of America Magazine, speaks June 26, 2025, during the Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
Kerry Weber is an executive editor for America. On May 20, 2025, the Catholic Media Association announced that she was elected president,
Grace LenahanJune 30, 2025
"The whole church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the pope," he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.