Blog Entry (First Draft) Into The Wild

I chose to analyze the movie “Into The Wild”, directed by Sean Penn for my first blog entry. Being one of my all-time favorite movies, I thought it would be interesting to view it while observing cinematic elements. Within the first few scenes, a Lord Byron quote “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is a society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in it’s roar: I love not man the less, but nature more” is displayed. This quote signifies the protagonist, Chris McCandless’ mindset in the movie and gives the audience insight on who Chris might be.

Before Chris is seen, there is a scene that shows Chris’s alias “Alexander Supertramp, April 1992” written on the side of a train. Without knowing the story, this would create a mystery for the audience of how this relates to Chris. I think mystery is an essential element of keeping an audience entertained and I like how his alias was introduced. A few minutes into the film, scenes of different buildings in Fairbanks, Alaska are presented. Narration during these scenes is done using sentences from letters Chris wrote at the time and displaying the words on the screen. This continues to develop Chris’s character without giving away his physical appearance, providing us a chance to think about what he might look like. The first visual we have of Chris is from a high-angle of him stepping out of a truck and walking towards the trail head in Fairbanks. Chris can’t quite be seen clearly, but we have a better idea of who he is. Mountains and Alaskan wilderness surround him as his face is finally revealed and makes us wonder what he is doing there.

A particular scene that stood out to me was a shot of Chris standing beside the Colorado River holding a kayak. The frame slowly begins zooming out to show the size and power of the rapids. All you can hear during this scene is the overwhelming roar of the river. Earlier in the movie, Chris states that he had always been scared of the water. The elements used help portray the fear he has to the audience and personally made me feel like I was there. Another scene that made his discomfort apparent was an upward-facing rotational shot of skyscrapers in Los Angeles. This is what Chris would have seen looking around. The next shot was a close-up of his face in obvious distress, letting us know the city is out of his comfort zone. As he makes his way out of the city, conversations of bystanders are muffled and the film is sped up, making the audience feel disoriented as Chris did in that situation.

Rotating shots around Chris were common throughout the movie. This gave me a more broad view of the scenery he was surrounded by in different locations. I like being able to see what the character sees and what its like to be in that moment, so it was enjoyable to see this method used. The sky was bright and the music was optimistic during his triumphs, such as the moment he discovered the bus in the middle of the woods in Fairbanks. The bright lighting and music aid in making us feel happy for Chris. When he realizes that a river he had previously crossed became too big to return home, the sky is dark grey and the camera is zoomed out, making him look small. This creates an illusion of powerlessness and a melancholy feeling. Every time Chris had a flashback, the shot was grainy and a bit shaky, creating the illusion of an old memory. There were reoccurring clips of a belt being tightened while he was dwelling in the Alaskan woods, making it apparent that he was struggling to find food. Another clip shows the belt being loosened and positive music started playing, this told me that he was beginning to learn how to survive in a new environment and his situation would become better.

I thought the wide shots of scenery used by Sean Penn were mesmerizing and made me feel like I was a part of the movie. The fact that the events in the movie were not in chronological order was something I was less fond of while watching “Into The Wild”, even though it can be fun to piece scenes together.

Sources Used:

Lord Byron quote from the movie, “Into The Wild”