Two things struck me immediately when watching the movie. The first was how it was beautifully shot. The filmmakers had some great landscapes to work with, especially for the scenes on the Colorado River and in Alaska, but they did them justice with plenty of panoramic shots set to appropriate music. These shots were sprinkled in frequently enough to help the viewers appreciate the natural beauty that so enticed McCandless, without distracting from the important human themes of the picture.
The literary nature of the film also stood ought to me. McCandless, evidentially, was a prolific reader, and his diary and letters, which the movie quotes throughout, are peppered with literary quotations. The effect is that the film's themes of isolation, self-discoverey, and community take on a more universal feel, despite the film being centered upon an individual.
Perhaps ironically, a movie that presents itself as being concerned with a young man living and dying in isolation is actually intensely concerned with community and relationships. No matter where he finds himself, McCandless falls in with people, and it is around these ad hoc communities that the film truly revolves. Even (spoiler alert!) McCandless's eventual death from starvation, alone in the Alaskan wilderness, is set in the context of relationships. Prior to his death, he is shown attempting to make his way, futilely, back to civilization, and his death scene suggests that while in isolation, McCandless found ultimate significance in his relationship with God.
This is the sort of movie where liking or disliking the film doesn't seem to matter as much as whether or not it made you think, or look at your own life differently. It did so for me, causing me to look with renewed appreciation upon my times of solitude, as well as my opprotunities to form relationships and community with the people around me.
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