Saturday night I saw "Into the Wild" a movie produced and directed by Sean Penn. It was about a young man Chris McCandless who was from a wealthy family in Georgia who upon finishing college and being accepted into an Ivy League school for his further studies, walked away from it all, gave all of his money away, ditched his car, cut up all his ID, and lived totally in the moment. He went wherever he wanted, to California, to Mexico, and finally to Alaska where he walked away into the wilderness and lived off of the land. I had read the book by Jon Krakauer a couple of years ago and was lured in by the title. It was a sad book in that Chris never grew into the man that he could have been. He died a slow and agonizing death and in his last days, I think he realized that he had made some mistakes. None-the-less, he died doing what he wanted. To some, he might seem irresponsible. To others, he was admired by his carefree attitude.The movie stayed very close in content to the book. 
I understand that Chris' parents were adamant that the movie not take artistic liscence in the portrayal of their son and his life. It did seem to me that Chris was an inspiration to everyone he met on his journey. He helped the people he met along the way to look within themselves  to think outside the mundane realm that we seem to fall into. Life is so short, this little slice of time we have here on this earth. Chris lived it to the fullest, yet by savoring his dream, he had his time cut short. Maybe that is a lesson worth holding on to.

I am sure this movie will garner an oscar nomination for best picture and best director. I highly recommend it.