Into the Wild

2007 Directed by Sean Penn

Into the heart. Into the soul.

After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

Emile Hirsch Marcia Gay Harden William Hurt Jena Malone Brian H. Dierker Catherine Keener Vince Vaughn Kristen Stewart Hal Holbrook Thure Lindhardt Signe Egholm Olsen Jim Gallien James J. O'Neill Malinda McCollum Paul Knauls Zach Galifianakis Craig Mutsch Jim Beidler John Decker John Hofer Jerry Hofer Terry Waldner Robin Mathews Candice Campos Steven Wiig Floyd Wall Bryce Walters Jim Davis Cheryl Francis Harrington Show All…

Alternative Titles

In die Wildnis - Allein nach Alaska, Na Natureza Selvagem, В диких условиях, Hacia rutas salvajes, Camino salvaje, Wszystko za życie, 荒野伴我心, Útek do divociny, Ταξίδι στην άγρια φύση, Ind i vildmarken, Erämaan armoille, Vers l'inconnu, Özgürlük Yolu, Into the Wild - Die Geschichte eines Aussteigers, Сред дивата природа, イントゥ・ザ・ワイルド, עד קצה העולם

adventure drama

148 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by mememily ★½ 12

chris is every high school boy after reading 1 real book
Review by Martin ★★½ 12

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I know several people whose opinions I respect that have loved this film and even rate it among their favourites, but having read the book and now having seen the movie I’m still at the same conclusion, that Chris McCandless was at times an insufferable prick who believed he was some divine combination of Thoreau and Jack London. He didn’t deserve to die for this stupidity (many his age think they're indestructible) but he doesn’t deserve to be mythologised either. Sean Penn’s script and direction shows how little of an actual story there is here, as he ends up relying on montages of scenery set to music and voiceover to fill space. (The book had a similar problem - there’s…
Review by Miss T. ★★★★★ 20

I cannot possibly BEGIN to describe my feelings towards this story, or perhaps the whole concept of what McCandless did. After watching the movie, I could not think of anything but a strange longing to do what he did, and it just kept going. I still feel that way, even now, as I think of it. Later, I read the book twice, and did a lot of research about McCandless, and I became more and more inspired. This is not just a movie - it is a wonder of creation. I have so much more to say, but I'll just stop here - watch the movie even if you are not inspired by what McCandless did - it is a beautiful movie in many ways.
Review by bruna ½ 4

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

privileged white boy acts like an ungrateful brat and runs away from home to live out the rest of his life surviving only on his pretentious ass. because of that, he thinks he is better than everyone else for being a "free spirit" wow look at him he refuses to have a car what an amazing social criticism but what this imbecile doesn't understand is that that is the most bourgeois thing he could ever do, romanticize the life of someone who had to actually do things because they weren't as spoiled as you. how is poverty freedom? only to a rich bored teen boy who wanted to have an adventure. anyways in the end he dies.
Review by Peaceful Stoner ★★★★★ 16

My God. The concept, the look at life, the songs, the lines in the songs,the soothing music , the dialogues, the edifying quotes, the characters and the picturesque nature shown in this film make it more than a film. It makes this, the ULTIMATE PHILOSOPHICAL EXPERIENCE. Everything is so beautiful and when Emile Hirsch sheds tears in the last scene, you cannot control breaking down.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 3

Into the Wild is a wondrous and breathtaking journey, taking the viewer on a spiritual quest that feels just as life-affirming and joyous as any film that I have seen. Emile Hirsch just kills it in the lead role, cementing my opinion that he's one of the most underrated actors working today.
I don't have much more to say about it. Into the Wild is a personal experience, one that will work much better when viewed alone.
Review by Rembrandt Q Pumpernickel ½ 21

Into the Wild makes almost a perfect pairing with Twilight as it is about everything "wrong" with young man perspective looked at completely uncritically and completely celebrated for it by the general public. This is a movie at which someone literally burns money, and we're supposed to be like "yeah! take that capitalism!" as if that money couldn't have helped someone who had less of a safety net than Chris McCandles. It's another film (like On the Road) that romanticizes the freedom of poverty while ignoring that that freedom McCandles experiences is almost entirely derived from his enormous privilege.
I'm not sure I can say anything worse about this film than it made me sympathetic to McCandles' awful suburban parents. What kind of person does this to their parents (barring situations of abuse)?
Honestly, watch Wendy and Lucy instead. This is probably the worst film I've watched this year.
Review by <Todd> ★★½ 5

"Where the fuck is Kristen Stewart?" - Me, for most of the movie.
-FC Anniversary Scavenger Hunt (13/21): boxd.it/7uQXe "Watch a movie with your celebrity birthday twin" (Catherine Keener)
People need more nature in their life I suppose... not this much though.
Generally speaking, I don't like watching privileged children slum it in order to find themselves... especially when they are obsessed with poetry and stuff. It's a flaw I have... I don't like watching young people recover from their flaws or histories during their early adulthood... I don't know why but it annoys me in movies. Maybe it's because I never feel like I dealt with mine or maybe I'm just too old and bitter to care or maybe…
Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★★ 6

A poignant true life story of a young man trying to find his true self! The journey is beautiful but like life it is filled with obstacles, challenges and tragedy!
I can't think of a time I haven't wanted to leave society behind, ditch the grid and fly under the radar as I traipse through the woods or beaches barefoot feeling the sand between my toes!
Then I realized I'd have to hunt prey, kill it, clean it, cook it and on top of that I'd have to fetch and haul wood, start a fire, haul water from a lake or river, boil it before I could drink it! Just thinking about that wears me out! Thank god for frozen…
Review by Nate ½ 26

This movie has a body count. People have died because of it. Sean Penn directed this. He is such a bad director that he makes Alaskan mountains look like shit. This is the worst movie of all time.
Review by fatpie42 ½ 9

Okay, I cannot for the life of me work out why anyone recommended this. (I've just tried and failed to work out where I saw this being recommended, so perhaps that was my imagination.) Okay, so there's good news and bad news and we're starting with the good news. So, what was good about this movie? The acting was really good from pretty much everyone (asides from Kristen Stewart - more on that later). The cinematography by Eric Gautier was fantastic. Gautier also did cinematography for "The Motorcycle Diaries". So anyway, that's all the good features sorted. Let's move on...
Okay that was a bit harsh, but this was a distressingly irritating movie and I shall explain why....
Let's start…
Review by Travis Lytle ★★★★

To give up everything, family, friends, possessions, money, structure, safety, is extremely brave. It may also be rife with hubris. Sean Penn's "Into the Wild," based on Jon Krakauer's retelling of the life and adventures of Christopher McCandless, examines those dual ideas, casting McCandless as an American wanderer as courageous as he is foolhardy.
In nonlinear bursts of storytelling, Penn's film follows McCandless from his college graduation to his exploration of personal and geographic frontiers. Turning his back on what is expected of him, McCandless moves west with little more than the clothes in his backpack. Eventually finding himself in Alaska, McCAndless finds the absolute freedom for which he searched and comes to the realization of that freedom's cost.
Penn…

Recent reviews

Review by Ace_La_Motta ★★★★½

"Happiness is only real when shared with others"
Review by J. Matthew Lucas ★★

It’s “Nomadland,” but bad, and also the main character is a moron. I also don’t understand why Sean Penn felt the need for this story to be a tediously painful two and a half hours.
Review by Dewa Putra Iwana ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Sebuah cerita yang diangkat dari kisah nyata seorang anak remaja beranjak dewasa, Christ Mcandless. Into the Wild merupakan kisah tragedi yang dibungkus dengan visual keindahan alam Alaska, California dan beberapa negara bagianya. Dari segi karakterisasi, Christ Mcandless adalah remaja yang penuh dengan dinamika serta mempunyai banyak cerita motif dan latar belakang yang mempengaruhi diri dan niatnya untuk akhirnya memutuskan pergi dan berkelana, berpetualang di alam liar meninggalkan kenyamanan, kemapanan, dan kepastian hidup yang sudah diberikan oleh orangtuanya. Dia merasa terkhianati oleh ayahnya, yang ternyata ia bersama adiknya dilahirkan melalui sebuah perselingkuhan. Menyadari hal itu, Christ Mcandless tidak segan lagi hidupnya diatur atau diperintah oleh siapapun termasuk ayahnya. Dia ingin merasakan kebebasan mejalani hidupnya sendiri seperti yang ia inginkan dan tidak…
Review by macigovertsen ★★★½

i should have paid attention to the whole movie
i think it was good
Review by juliaraczzz ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

After reading the reviews under this movie I am amazed how many people did not like the film. Although I did not admire the editing style of (i think it was just a product of it’s time) I truly believe the story was told beautifully. The whole film you admire Chris’s ability to drop everything in his life, acknowledging its toxicity, and adventure into the unknown. After stepping away from his family he is able to find family wherever he is. People that care for him and love him even though they know nothing about him. In the last final shots of the film we see Chris writing “happiness is only real when shared”. His entire life he desires running…
Review by Elli ★★½

It took me three sittings to finish this one. I loved the book, but the film is a bit of a disappointment for me.
Review by FelliniABanda ★★★★★

Ao vencedor, as batatas!
Review by Jillian Acreman ★★★★

Every time I watch this movie the saddest part changes. This time it was the moose.
Review by Chavo Saraintaris ★★

Una verga con música de Eddie Vedder.
Review by waad ★★★★★ 1

initially watched this just bc kristen was in it but turned out pretty good dramatic n kinda sad from what i remember
Review by ZeyGatsby

Aileden zengin pembe popolu beyaz amerikalı bir gencin “anne ben keliforniyada sersefil haldeyim gel beni al” jokerine güvenerek çıktığı hippi yolda moku mokuna kendini öldürmesinin güzellendiği romantiklerin yere göğe sığdıramadığı rezil hikaye (ekşi sözlük yazarı gibi konuştum neden ben de bilmiyorum)
Review by alex ★★★★★

I've decided i'm going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and simple beauty is just too good to pass up..