“Into the Wild”

“Into the Wild”

I am looking forward to seeing this movie shortly upon my return from vacation. The movie is to be released on Sept. 21 nationwide after its debut in Fairbanks, Alaska in appreciation to the many local Alaskans who helped in the production of the movie.

The book was well written and had an impact at the time for me as McCandless was going to Emory University in Atlanta where I was living. I remembered the news stories and how bizarre it sounded at the time and shortly left the city on my way north to Alaska.

Sean Penn directs this movie based on the incredible book of the same name written by Jon Krakauer in 1996. The book developed from a lengthy article Krakauer wrote in 1993 for “Outside” magazine about the life of Christopher McCandless, who grew up in a wealthy suburb of Washington, D. C., and died in the Alaskan wilderness at age 24.

In April the prior year, a trucker had dropped McCandless - who had cut off all communication with his family soon after his college graduation - off near the Stampede Trail in Alaska. All McCandless had with him was camping gear, a few books and field guides, 10 pounds of rice, a small rifle, camera, and ammunition.

In early September of that year, McCandless’ body was found in an abandoned school bus converted to a camper by moose hunters. The “Call of the Wild” storyline . . . of the Alaskan wilderness is amazingly compelling. I’ve read the book multiple times now along with other Krakauer books; “Into Thin Air” (about the May 10, 1996 Everest climbing tragedy) and his recent book, “Under the Banner of Heaven” (about the “In Cold Blood” type Utah double murder in 1984 in a Mormon polygamist community)

I hope this movie is as well made as “Into Thin Air” since it’s a movie I’ve hoped would be made on film. The odyssey of leaving his family and comfortable surroundings to the wilds of Alaska in the shadow of America’s highest mountain is one I most look forward to seeing when I return from my vacation.

Ice