INTO THE WILD
A rare film that grabs you at guts. A 20 year old college graduate with good grades gives up his promising career, home, possessions, savings and takes up a journey to spend time in nature, away from the seductions of the modern world!
Why does he disappear abandoning his car, burning his remaining dollar bills, changing his name, leaving no trace for his family to find out his whereabouts? Is it not a reaction against his control freak parents with middle class values?
“There is something more than rebellion more than anger that was driving him,” in the words of his sister Carine who understood Chris’s search.
Sean Penn’s beautiful and spellbinding film is an adaptation of the book Into the Wild by Jon Karkauer based on true life story which took place in 1990s USA.
The film tracks down precious impressions of this odd youth through the narrative reconstructed from the journals, the memories of people who met him during his journey . Besides the captivating photography, powerful performances of those who fed, sheltered, gave him clothes, shared their lives, mentored him, and who respected his quest worrying that his life is doomed, make it a delight to watch.
Robin Sharma in his book Discover your Destiny mentions Living a Lie as the first stage of human self-awakening. It is the lowest level of consciousness we humans operate from- from what we have been told to believe! According to him it is a self-betrayal most people find themselves living in!
Chris wrote in his journal: No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. An aesthetic voyageur whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shall not return… And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild – Alexander Supertramp. May 1992.
Is the director idealizing a clueless cocky kid into a hero? Many critics of the film wrote so. In fact the film does not hesitate to bring out the flaws in Chris. The film portrays Chris’ adventurous journey of self-awakening after leaving the “sick society” in 5 stages :
Chapter 1. My own birth Chapter 2. Adolescence Chapter 3. Manhood Chapter 4. Family Chapter 5. Getting of Wisdom
Many see the ending as sad. Well, it depends on how you look at death. One can see it as Great Awakening! True, Chris wanted to return inspired by his reading of Tolstoy. He could not due to the floods in the swollen Alaskan rivers of the summer. Indeed the mistaken poisonous roots which he ate made him ill. An encounter with a wild bear which did not attack him indicated that Chris had moved into another state where nature and animals recognize you as harmless and non-violent!
A question from another angle- of those who are parents: What about his parents and their suffering? In the words of Chris’ sister Carine:
With almost a year having passed since Chris’ disappearance my parents’ anger had turned to desperation. Their guilt was giving way to pain. And pain seemed to bring them closer. Even their faces had changed.
But I catch myself and remember that these are not the parents I grew up with. That people soften by the forced reflection that comes with loss. Still everything Chris is saying has to be said. And I trust that everything he is doing has to be done. This is our life
Chris’ parents were undergoing another journey indeed painful! They too were being prepared to enter a state to see themselves, each other and the world with purified vision!
To understand the psychological process involved I recommend you listen to : https://www.resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/john-welwood-healing-the-core-wound-of-the-heart/
Bandhu Bob http://www.thetalkshop.in/bobby