Being one of my most anticipated films of 2007, Into the Wild held up to my high expectations. Robbed of a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, Into the Wild was possibly on of the most poetic movies I’ve seen that has dealt with teenage angst, human and nature interactions, and the idea of ultimate freedom in such a beautiful way. Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsche) is sick of living by society’s rules. After graduating from college, he hits the road in a quest for absolute freedom. He burns his social security card, cuts up his credit cards, and gives his life savings away to charity. He then sets out on the road where he meets a bunch of people that support him and his quest to reach Alaska. Along they way, he runs into a hippie couple who are on the road like him, a farmer who puts him to work, and an old man who wishes he was young again. While the ‘present’ of the film is set on the Magic Bus in an Alaskan forest, the bulk of the film is through flashbacks of his journey and childhood. Although many people, including myself, claim that Chris McCandless was self-centered and arrogant, one cannot help but admire his courage and determination that he had in order to achieve pure happiness. With great supporting performances from Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Vince Vaughn, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Halbrook, Sean Penn’s Into the Wild is a film that will most certainly be remembered years and years and years from now.