Hi Forum,
There is a documentary on Christopher McCandless and the story. It was made by a documentary film maker Ron Lamothe. He was also inspired by the story and travelled to the places Chris went, spoke to the people he knew and even bumped into the Sean Penn Film Crew a couple of times whilst filming the documentary.
It reveals some interesting facts and opinions and is well worth a look.
I have been in touch with Ron who was even kind enough to forward a copy of the DVD to me. His website is www.terraincognitafilms.com with more information and a link to purchase the DVD.
Cheers,
Admin
The Christopher McCandless Documentary
Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
Having just watched this documentary on PBS, it inspired me to see what the internet and people thought about McCandless's life and travels. The documentary is haunting and culminates with a hike to that eerie bus and it's contents. Well done and informative, it helps the viewer with more
accurate facts in the events of McCandless's death than the movie portrayed.
accurate facts in the events of McCandless's death than the movie portrayed.
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caroleefitzgerald
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:41 pm
Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
I just saw the movie read the book 3 times and have since been reading and searching for more information on the truth of his life. Are the journals posted anywhere? I spent 126 days alone w meager supplies, and lots of time to meditate and do yoga. There are so many parallels to his journey and mine except that his foolish extremism killed him. I have been deeply moved by his story because it gave me my first look at how my family suffered for my reckless indifference for their mental state, for example knowing where their 22 year old daughter disappeared and why she never called. I am in contact with my family now. This story has struck a chord with me that resounds inside my thoughts. I would be grateful to anyone who is interested and has info to send links to caroleefitzgerald@yahoo.com. For anyone who is attracted to the romanticism of this story, we are not all supertramps. If you need a sabbatical take one but for the love of god and all sentient beings tell someone where you're going. My mom still has nightmares about the phone call that Chris's parents inevidably got concerning his well being. It seems to me that his problem was that society didn't accept him as he was. But he didn't accept society for what it was either. Extremism of any kind is dangerous. But the love he wanted he wasnt willing to give and it ultimately lead to his untimely demise. I love his bravery and his insights its a shame he had to starve to death to realize that final truth, "happiness only real when shared". thanks for any info.NAMASTE'carrie
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Mr Verdant Green
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- Location: Southern California
- Contact:
Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
Here is my review of the documentary The Call of the Wild by Ron Lamothe.
It may contain possible spoilers.
The Call of the Wild is a 2007 independent documentary about ill-fated American wanderer Christopher McCandless made by Ron Lamothe of Terra Incognita films (http://terraincognitafilms.com). I first heard about it from a link on the Wikipedia entry for Christopher McCandless and later read good reviews of it on the forum about him (www.christophermccandless.info/forum). Some people had seen it on Showtime or on their local PBS station. I enjoyed the film Into the Wild that came out in 2007 and I listened to an audio version of the book by Jon Krakauer one year later. Though I don’t feel I can completely relate to McCandless, I do find his story compelling. The Call of the Wild seemed like it had a different take on the story, perhaps a more personal and honest account than the Hollywood movie.
We don’t have Showtime and they weren’t showing The Call of the Wild on PBS that I knew of so the only way I could see the film was to order the DVD from the Terra Incognita website. I did so and it came in the mail a few weeks later.
Several days later, I popped in the DVD and right away I noticed that it had no special features, only the choice between watching the film and selecting chapters. I chose the former. Each chapter begins with white text on a black background. I noticed that the chapter names, at least some of them such as the earlier “The Law of Club and Fang” and the later “The Sounding of the Call” are also the names of chapters in Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. The film is 108 minutes long and has some soundtrack of mostly rock songs such as Supertramp’s “Dreamer,” interestingly enough. It consists of Ron Lamothe following in the footsteps of McCandless, visiting the places where he went, talking to some of the people who knew him, and giving his own thoughts. He skips around a bit as he goes through the events of McCandless’ life, but I had no trouble following.
Lamothe’s film is different from Into the Wild even though it was made at the same time and Lamothe often ran into Sean Penn and the Hollywood filmmakers. It seeks to tell the true story, visit the actual locations, even travel by hitchhiking just like McCandless did. Lamothe goes to the actual homes where McCandless spent his early childhood in El Segundo, CA and most of his childhood and youth in Annandale, Virginia. The film includes many actual photographs of McCandless and chooses to go to actual over picturesque locations. Lamothe doesn’t get to interview any of the major figures of McCandless’ life such as his family because they’re working with Sean Penn. He still talks to several different people who knew McCandless casually at different points in his life.
This account is very personal. Lamothe was born in the same year as McCandless and had his own adventure in Africa after he finished college. He also has an indirect connection to McCandless. Lamothe’s film explores larger themes such as Generation X, the need for adventure, and to test oneself. He gives his own speculation about why McCandless took his journey but also lets the people he interviews give their opinions. Some are sympathetic, others, such as the Alaskans he talks to, are critical. One interviewee is actually indifferent. Lamothe doesn’t go into his own theories as much as Krakauer does in his book. The film doesn’t get into the dysfunctional family situations. Unlike the book and Hollywood film it has these montages illustrating the themes such as one of Alaska that includes a shot of Rob Morrow from Northern Exposure. The film also gives more complete backgrounds of some of the places such as Oh My God Hot Springs and the “Magic Bus.”
One problem I had with the film was a problem with the DVD. Many times it would just stop and freeze. Speeding ahead caused it to go ahead a chapter. The only way to deal with it was to roll it back a bit. The freeze points seemed to get more frequent towards the end. I was able to catch the entire film but all the active intervention with the DVD made for a less relaxing movie watching experience.
I feel that The Call of the Wild tells a more accurate story of McCandless than Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. It provides some good background information and some interesting personal viewpoints. Still, I prefer the Hollywood movie Into the Wild as a more enjoyable film to watch and not just because the DVD played more smoothly.
A few months after I watched the DVD, Ron Lamothe emailed me (and others) asking how I found out about the film. I wrote him back and also mentioned the difficulties I had with the DVD. He offered to send a replacement copy. I accepted and received the DVD a few weeks later. It took me awhile to get around to watching it, but when I did it worked much better. Thanks, Ron.
It may contain possible spoilers.
The Call of the Wild is a 2007 independent documentary about ill-fated American wanderer Christopher McCandless made by Ron Lamothe of Terra Incognita films (http://terraincognitafilms.com). I first heard about it from a link on the Wikipedia entry for Christopher McCandless and later read good reviews of it on the forum about him (www.christophermccandless.info/forum). Some people had seen it on Showtime or on their local PBS station. I enjoyed the film Into the Wild that came out in 2007 and I listened to an audio version of the book by Jon Krakauer one year later. Though I don’t feel I can completely relate to McCandless, I do find his story compelling. The Call of the Wild seemed like it had a different take on the story, perhaps a more personal and honest account than the Hollywood movie.
We don’t have Showtime and they weren’t showing The Call of the Wild on PBS that I knew of so the only way I could see the film was to order the DVD from the Terra Incognita website. I did so and it came in the mail a few weeks later.
Several days later, I popped in the DVD and right away I noticed that it had no special features, only the choice between watching the film and selecting chapters. I chose the former. Each chapter begins with white text on a black background. I noticed that the chapter names, at least some of them such as the earlier “The Law of Club and Fang” and the later “The Sounding of the Call” are also the names of chapters in Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. The film is 108 minutes long and has some soundtrack of mostly rock songs such as Supertramp’s “Dreamer,” interestingly enough. It consists of Ron Lamothe following in the footsteps of McCandless, visiting the places where he went, talking to some of the people who knew him, and giving his own thoughts. He skips around a bit as he goes through the events of McCandless’ life, but I had no trouble following.
Lamothe’s film is different from Into the Wild even though it was made at the same time and Lamothe often ran into Sean Penn and the Hollywood filmmakers. It seeks to tell the true story, visit the actual locations, even travel by hitchhiking just like McCandless did. Lamothe goes to the actual homes where McCandless spent his early childhood in El Segundo, CA and most of his childhood and youth in Annandale, Virginia. The film includes many actual photographs of McCandless and chooses to go to actual over picturesque locations. Lamothe doesn’t get to interview any of the major figures of McCandless’ life such as his family because they’re working with Sean Penn. He still talks to several different people who knew McCandless casually at different points in his life.
This account is very personal. Lamothe was born in the same year as McCandless and had his own adventure in Africa after he finished college. He also has an indirect connection to McCandless. Lamothe’s film explores larger themes such as Generation X, the need for adventure, and to test oneself. He gives his own speculation about why McCandless took his journey but also lets the people he interviews give their opinions. Some are sympathetic, others, such as the Alaskans he talks to, are critical. One interviewee is actually indifferent. Lamothe doesn’t go into his own theories as much as Krakauer does in his book. The film doesn’t get into the dysfunctional family situations. Unlike the book and Hollywood film it has these montages illustrating the themes such as one of Alaska that includes a shot of Rob Morrow from Northern Exposure. The film also gives more complete backgrounds of some of the places such as Oh My God Hot Springs and the “Magic Bus.”
One problem I had with the film was a problem with the DVD. Many times it would just stop and freeze. Speeding ahead caused it to go ahead a chapter. The only way to deal with it was to roll it back a bit. The freeze points seemed to get more frequent towards the end. I was able to catch the entire film but all the active intervention with the DVD made for a less relaxing movie watching experience.
I feel that The Call of the Wild tells a more accurate story of McCandless than Sean Penn’s Into the Wild. It provides some good background information and some interesting personal viewpoints. Still, I prefer the Hollywood movie Into the Wild as a more enjoyable film to watch and not just because the DVD played more smoothly.
A few months after I watched the DVD, Ron Lamothe emailed me (and others) asking how I found out about the film. I wrote him back and also mentioned the difficulties I had with the DVD. He offered to send a replacement copy. I accepted and received the DVD a few weeks later. It took me awhile to get around to watching it, but when I did it worked much better. Thanks, Ron.
Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
Mr Verdant Green
Thanks for your thoughts on the documentary.
I wonder how many people have bought the DVD as a result of this website - I would geuss that a good number have. It is good that people get a holistic view of the story.
I did have some correspondence with Rob when I first created this site and actually let him know that the documentary was on Youtube. I didnt think he had approved it, so thought I would let him know.
Cheers, Adam (admin)
Thanks for your thoughts on the documentary.
I wonder how many people have bought the DVD as a result of this website - I would geuss that a good number have. It is good that people get a holistic view of the story.
I did have some correspondence with Rob when I first created this site and actually let him know that the documentary was on Youtube. I didnt think he had approved it, so thought I would let him know.
Cheers, Adam (admin)
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erikhalfacre
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 12:48 am
- Location: Palmer, AK
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Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
At the point that I saw Penn's film in 2007 (I think I went to the first showing at the Century 16 Theater in Anchorage) I had not read most of the book. I worked at a book store in the Talkeetna Mountains run by the Alaska Natural History Association in the summers of 2003 through 2005 and I had briefly thumbed through it because it was selling better than most of the other books. I was only six years old when McCandless died in 92, but I had heard the story many times via word of mouth. Locals love to talk about that story whether they love Chris or hate him.
When I saw the movie I loved it. I knew it was a somewhat romanticized version of the story but it was a great piece of film. I'm not even a particularly big fan of Sean Penn but that movie was amazing. I actually saw it a couple times while it was in theaters I think. Then a couple years later I hiked out to the bus with friends in the summer of 2009. In 2010 I did a video about hiking to the bus for a college project. In the summer of 2012 I intend to do the same thing again, but with a slightly different angle, a lot better equipment, and an entire degree's worth more of digital media schooling. As part of that project though I was doing a lot of research and that's when I read the whole book and came across Ron's documentary.
I felt that Lamothe's documentary was much more honest and probing than what Krakauer or Penn's work had been, but a lot of that had to do with goals I think. Neither Krakauer or Penn were trying to do a piece of investigative journalism, they were trying to tell an epic of sorts. A certain amount of romanticism has to be applied to get to that end. I don't particularly fault either of them for that. If Krakauer wants to go to the grave believing that McCandless was poisoned that's certainly up to him. The part that bothers me is that it's 100 percent speculation, being as there is literally no evidence to support it. Heck, even if McCandless thought he had been poisoned and that's what his cryptic journal entry meant about the pot seed, it's still speculation on McCandless' part.
I think what Lamothe brings to the table, is another perspective, another idea. Again, the idea that McCandless may have (read no further if you don't want it spoiled) broken his arm is also speculation with approximately the same amount of evidence to support it. I will say though, that it makes a bit more sense to me and here's why:
If I were McCandless and I had decided to leave and I got to the Teklanika River and it was running high, what would I do? Well if I didn't know that I could just cross on a cable a little north of where I stood, or on a bridge about a 3 day's walk south of where I was, and my only choice was to somehow cross that river, assuming all my limbs were intact, I know I could have done it. I wouldn't ever recommend just trying to swim for it, but building a raft would have been easy. On the West side of the Teklanika, where the trail crosses it, right along the trail there are dozens of 55 gallon drums. I have pictures to prove it as well. Those drums have been there for quite some time, they didn't get there anytime more recent than 92 (as far as I know.) Drums float. Even if I didn't have the drums though, logs float. All kinds of things float that I could have made some kind of floatation aid to get myself across the river.
That's what I never understood. But... what if my arm were broken. What if I only had the use of one arm. Now I would have to realize that even if I could build a raft with one arm, I would also be faced with the prospect of having to try and paddle a raft or hold onto some kind of float, with only the use of one good arm. The consequences of that not going well could certainly be death by drowning. Knowing that I might be inclined to stay put for a while and hope to heal my arm. But now, with little food, and it being much more difficult to aquire more, I may not be in good enough health for my arm to heal like it should. His diet would certainly be lacking in Calcium amongst other things.
The broken arm theory would explain a lot. It would explain why, so far as we know, Chris didn't come back and check the river depth multiple times. What good would it do? He couldn't swim if he got knocked over even in thigh deep water.
Part of me I guess, finds Lamothe's theory more appealing because it just makes it easier for me to sympathize with Chris. If he just starved, or if he 'ate the wrong thing,' having been there, and having been in similar situations before, I don't think I could say that 'it might have happened to me.' A big river is a hurdle to be certain, but it's not a show stopper. On the other hand, a big river with a broken arm certainly could be.
Just my two cents.
When I saw the movie I loved it. I knew it was a somewhat romanticized version of the story but it was a great piece of film. I'm not even a particularly big fan of Sean Penn but that movie was amazing. I actually saw it a couple times while it was in theaters I think. Then a couple years later I hiked out to the bus with friends in the summer of 2009. In 2010 I did a video about hiking to the bus for a college project. In the summer of 2012 I intend to do the same thing again, but with a slightly different angle, a lot better equipment, and an entire degree's worth more of digital media schooling. As part of that project though I was doing a lot of research and that's when I read the whole book and came across Ron's documentary.
I felt that Lamothe's documentary was much more honest and probing than what Krakauer or Penn's work had been, but a lot of that had to do with goals I think. Neither Krakauer or Penn were trying to do a piece of investigative journalism, they were trying to tell an epic of sorts. A certain amount of romanticism has to be applied to get to that end. I don't particularly fault either of them for that. If Krakauer wants to go to the grave believing that McCandless was poisoned that's certainly up to him. The part that bothers me is that it's 100 percent speculation, being as there is literally no evidence to support it. Heck, even if McCandless thought he had been poisoned and that's what his cryptic journal entry meant about the pot seed, it's still speculation on McCandless' part.
I think what Lamothe brings to the table, is another perspective, another idea. Again, the idea that McCandless may have (read no further if you don't want it spoiled) broken his arm is also speculation with approximately the same amount of evidence to support it. I will say though, that it makes a bit more sense to me and here's why:
If I were McCandless and I had decided to leave and I got to the Teklanika River and it was running high, what would I do? Well if I didn't know that I could just cross on a cable a little north of where I stood, or on a bridge about a 3 day's walk south of where I was, and my only choice was to somehow cross that river, assuming all my limbs were intact, I know I could have done it. I wouldn't ever recommend just trying to swim for it, but building a raft would have been easy. On the West side of the Teklanika, where the trail crosses it, right along the trail there are dozens of 55 gallon drums. I have pictures to prove it as well. Those drums have been there for quite some time, they didn't get there anytime more recent than 92 (as far as I know.) Drums float. Even if I didn't have the drums though, logs float. All kinds of things float that I could have made some kind of floatation aid to get myself across the river.
That's what I never understood. But... what if my arm were broken. What if I only had the use of one arm. Now I would have to realize that even if I could build a raft with one arm, I would also be faced with the prospect of having to try and paddle a raft or hold onto some kind of float, with only the use of one good arm. The consequences of that not going well could certainly be death by drowning. Knowing that I might be inclined to stay put for a while and hope to heal my arm. But now, with little food, and it being much more difficult to aquire more, I may not be in good enough health for my arm to heal like it should. His diet would certainly be lacking in Calcium amongst other things.
The broken arm theory would explain a lot. It would explain why, so far as we know, Chris didn't come back and check the river depth multiple times. What good would it do? He couldn't swim if he got knocked over even in thigh deep water.
Part of me I guess, finds Lamothe's theory more appealing because it just makes it easier for me to sympathize with Chris. If he just starved, or if he 'ate the wrong thing,' having been there, and having been in similar situations before, I don't think I could say that 'it might have happened to me.' A big river is a hurdle to be certain, but it's not a show stopper. On the other hand, a big river with a broken arm certainly could be.
Just my two cents.
Last edited by erikhalfacre on Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Erik Halfacre - Moderator
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Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
erikhalfacre wrote: Heck, even if McCandless thought he had been poisoned and that's what his cryptic journal entry meant about the pot seed, it's still speculation on McCandless' part.
Right, and Krakauer also wrote it like that.
Regarding the broken arm theory, it doesn't make sense to me either. But I already wrote about that in this thread, which you might find interesting as well:
http://www.christophermccandless.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3190&sid=038e5d7bb7a51d78f6f99ee784a00f10
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BreeAlysia
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 4:09 am
Re: The Christopher McCandless Documentary
I was really excited about this documentary as I am a high school teacher who teachers the book Into the Wild. I wanted the kids to read the book, see the Hollywood movie and then see the documentary-- compare the three and draw their own conclusions. However, it's such a bad piece of film making, I am reluctant to show it. I mean, what work/ research did the filmmaker do? It seems as though he takes all of Krakauer's work and then back tracks over it and then just travels to those places to do interviews Krakauer already did. He does throw in some terrible camera work and irrelevant interviews from his friends and the random people he meets. While I like the presentation of another theory on how he died, but really? Some of the voice over is practically taken directly out of the book. I also didn't like the whole "me vs. Sean Penn" bit, it seemed whiny. And most importantly, why is there no acknowledgment that it's Krakauer who did most of the heavy lifting as far as investigation here?
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