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Into the Wild

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02:26

Into the Wild

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• Adventure
• Documentary

• 2007
• Sean Penn
• 141 mins
• 15

Summary

Biographical drama based on the book by Jon Krakauer, directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt. After graduating from university, Christopher McCandless turns his back on friends and family, gives his savings to charity and sets out on a journey of spiritual discovery to the wilderness of Alaska.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Jamie Russell

The allure of the American wilderness is at the heart of this profoundly moving true story about amateur adventurer Christopher McCandless. In 1990, the 22-year-old college graduate abandoned his middle-class family and hitch-hiked across the country. His destination: a life of solitary contemplation in the snowy wastes of Alaska. Basing his screenplay on John Krakauer's bestselling biography, writer/director Sean Penn follows McCandless (played with tragic boyishness by Emile Hirsch) on his Thoreau-inspired quest to commune with nature. Penn's camera captures the grandeur of the American landscape magnificently, yet what really impresses is Hirsch's intuitive performance. His adventures on the road are offset by an intermittent voiceover from Carine McCandless (Jena Malone) detailing the impact of her brother's disappearance on their buttoned-down parents (the excellent William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden). Celebrating McCandless's beatnik philosophy while refusing to ignore his inherent selfishness, Penn crafts an entrancing movie that is by turns uplifting and tragic.

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8.0/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameChristopher "Chris" McCandlessEmile HirschBillie McCandlessMarcia Gay HardenWalt McCandlessWilliam HurtCarine McCandlessJena MaloneRaineyBrian DierkerJan BurresCatherine KeenerWayne WesterbergVince VaughnTracy TatroKristen StewartRon FranzHal HolbrookKevinZach GalifianakisBullR D Call

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Crew

rolenameDirectorSean Penn

Details

Theatrical distributor

Paramount

Released on

2007-11-09

Languages

English | Danish

Guidance

Swearing.

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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