The idea of completely abandoning organized society to uncover the truth of who you really are has been a popular topic for many poets and writers and is the subject of director Sean Penn's Into the Wild. This captivating drama, inspired by a true story, is about a young man whose obsessive quest to live alone in the Alaskan wilderness leads him on the adventure of a life time. Emile Hirsch plays Christopher McCandless, a fresh Emory University graduate, looking to reap the soulful benefits of solitude through a cross country odyssey that will take him as far away from his domineering parents as he can get. Turning down a new car, donating his $24,000 Harvard Law savings fund to charity, cutting up his credit cards and renaming himself Alexander Supertramp, McCandless 'emancipates' himself from the world as he prepares himself for complete solitude in the Yukon, his 'great Alaskan adventure'.

Along the way he meets two middle-age hippies Jan and Rainey (Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker) who live out of their van, traveling the country-living out the freedom of being on their own and becoming the young man's surrogate parents. McCandless also meets Wayne played by Vince Vaughn who gives a surprisingly decent performance as a Dakota farmer. But the star of the movie is undoubtedly Hal Holbrook who plays Ron, a retired Army man and widower. Ron is McCandless' most important encounter. Ron's experience and long-life gives his words power but his loss and loneliness give him a sort of delicacy that touches the audience in both the mind and heart, with such memorable lines as: "When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines on you." The cinematography comes in at a close second to Holbrook's performance. The overall theme of the movie is forgiveness and love-something all humans can relate to.

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