Christoper McCandless is a guy just graduated from college who feels trapped in his everyday life. So he gives away his life savings, cuts up all his credit cards, takes on a fake name and disappears. He wanders the country for 2 years, dipping down into Mexico for a bit, before heading up to Alaska to "live off the land" and find himself. He ends up taking up house in an abandoned school bus and leaving in Alaska for four months before dying under unclear circumstances. This is based on a true story and, other than his death*, is apparently very close to the real story. Directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch, this is really good. There's a sadness to the movie as you know it doesn't end well and that this guy just abandoned his family without warning and without contacting them. Jon Krakauer wrote a book on the guy, tracking down a bunch of the people he met - the hippies who live in Slab City, the grain farmer who gave him a job, the old guy who wanted to adopt him, and more - and studying his writings and photos. I think a lot of us can relate to the romantic notion of just "dropping off the grid" and disappearing. This movie shows the not-so-romantic reality of that. I'd had this movie in my queue for a long time but decided to watch it when it came up in the news this week as another idiot decided to try and emulate this guy and died trying. I really enjoyed this one - 8/10. Look for Jena Malone and Kristen Stewart in small roles as well.
* - the death theory presented in the movie has since been conclusively proven incorrect.
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