Into the Wild

My sister read Into the Wild and saw the movie in the same day. Yeah, start to finish on the book and movie in one day! So she recommended them to me. I put myself on the hold list for the book at the library and waited for three months!

Basically, this is a story of guy who decides to avoid the life of luxury provided by his parents and pursue happiness by enjoying nature and the earth. If you have to choose between seeing the movie and reading the book, choose the book. There is just so much detail that must be left out of the movie. I was so emotionally attached to this book that I was disappointed I could not go out directly to see the movie. Instead I had to wait several weeks.

So the night finally arrived to see the movie and we sat down to watch all 147 minutes of it. The music and scenery in this film really contributed to how it pulls at you emotionally. The struggles he goes through, how brave he is, the words he writes, the people who come into contact with him, all these things make for a movie where you can't decide if you are happy or sad when you finish watching it. Emile Hirsch is GREAT in this role. I will be keeping an eye out for him from now on.

I love how the story has been pieced together by people he met in his tramping around and memories of his family and notes and journals that he left behind. This is a must-see/-read.

How was Eddie Veddar not nominated for an Oscar for Hard Sun? It is a beautiful song. Enchanted had 3 songs nominated! I haven't seen Enchanted, so I am not saying anything negative about it or the music in it, but couldn't they have given ONE of those noms to Eddie??