Into the Wild
Sean Penn, USA, 2007o
A sheltered home, exceptional talent and stunning charm - college graduate Christopher has bright prospects for the future. Overnight, he breaks out of his privileged existence, hitchhikes across America without a cent in his pocket and travels into the wilderness of Alaska in search of another life. In the seclusion, however, adventurism turns into drama.
Based on the factual account by John Kracauer, Sean Penn, in what is probably his strongest directorial work, reels in the story of American student Chris McCandless, who after graduating from university gave away all his savings and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness, where adventurism turned into drama. Penn's focus is on McCandless' encounters during the long journey, from which a compelling character portrait gradually emerges: No one is left untouched by this young man who, however, repeatedly eludes his new acquaintances and eventually falls victim to his half-baked idealism. Beyond the specific character study, Into the Wild tells of charisma and irresponsibility as privileges of youth, which hardly knows about the pain of parents adn other people left behind.
Andreas FurlerLa photographie est sublime, Emile Hirsch convaincant, la mise en scène en retrait, respectueuse et touchante. Un chef-d'oeuvre, pas moins.
Christophe Goffette