Allen Hunt's Blog

Suffering
Suffering
Suffering
Suffering
Orgasm!
Suffering

I did two things this weekend I don't normally do.
1) I let go of my prejudices for a few hours and
2) I took the advice of my arch nemesis, Erik in Athens.
Boy am I glad I did! You see a few weeks ago you may remember that Erik encouraged me to see the film Into the Wild which has just come out on DVD. I objected that I didn't like the idea of supporting any sort of endeavor that involved Sean Penn, the film's director, although I generally do enjoy the work of journalist Jon Krakauer, on whose bestselling book the film was based. Something told me-whether it was Erik or the Holy Spirit I'm still not sure- to make an exception this time though. I had expected to see the gospel according to Penn, complete with all his radical leftist ideologies. I sure was wrong. The film was wonderful. It tells the true story of Chris McCandless who graduated from Emory with honors in 1990 (or I should say he graduated without honors, since he declined Phi Betta Kappa when it was offered to him). BTW don't get me started on Emory. Their divinity school reads Bultmann for Christ's sake....uh where was I...Oh yes, the movie. Anyhow, after graduating McCandless gave his life savings of 25,000 to charity one day and disappeared into America, leaving behind every vestige of his identity and even calling himself by a new name, Alexander Supertramp. The movie takes us along on his journey, with occasional flashbacks of Alex's less than happy childhood- his parent's bitter fighting, their divorce, and what seem worst of all for Alex, their devotion to the superficialities of middle-class social climbing. And what a fascinating journey it is. Alex seems to walk into people's lives easily and touch them profoundly with his honesty and compassion. One encounter stands out in particular: Alex has befriended 80 year-old Ron (played by Hal Holbrook in an Oscar nominated performance), a hard-bitten old guy, Korea veteran, who seems to embody the American "type"- religious (wishes Alex would go to Mass with him) and stoic and full of a kind of quiet decency. It turns out Ron's young family had been wiped out many years previously by a drunk driver, and though he has had a good life and made peace with it, he seems to have closed himself off from much of the world until Alex arrives. In a scene that is the emotional center of the film, Ron and Alex discover together that "when you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines on you." (amazing thing to here in a Hollywood movie!) In another very tender scene Ron chokes back 40 years of emotion while asking Alex if he might consider letting him adopt him as a son. Alex's fateful reply- they can talk about it after he gets back from Alaska. Thus begins Alex's last journey- into the very deepest of the wilds. I suppose most folks are familiar enough with the story that it won't seem a spoiler if I mention that Alex dies in the Alaskan wilderness. I only bring it up because it seems that just at the very end, when he knows full well that he is dying, Alex seems finally to have discovered some basic truths about himself and the world. The movie accurately recreates the haunting self-portraits that were discovered in the camera which was found with his body: though gaunt and dying he smiles broadly, almost joyfully, and holds up a sign reading, "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
What an amazing message, what an amazing film. With very little nudity or foul language, I have to give this one a definite 12 out of 14 stations of the cross.
Also the cinematography was good.

Life in 6 words:

Day late and a dollar short :)

Live to love, love to live

Trying to follow the golden rule