Back to the Wild

Back to the Wild (2012)

**** (out of 4)

Excellent documentary marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Christopher McCandless who took a journey to Alaska where he would wind up dying from starvation, alone in a bus. His story was turned into the book and eventual movie INTO THE WILD and he has become somewhat of a legend to the many people influenced by what he went through. What's so great about this documentary is that you get interviews with his parents, friends as well as the man who was perhaps the last one to see him alive. What I enjoyed most about this documentary is that it not only talks about the inspiration aspect of his journey but unlike most films, this one here really takes a close look at everything he did wrong on this journey. We get a survival expert who talks about what Christopher would have to do in order to survive that long in Alaska and we also hear about some earlier near death experiences, which might have made Christopher risk things too long in Alaska because he felt he could survive anything. This aspect to the story is something I really haven't seen covered and the director does a terrific job at really making you realize how terrifying the final few weeks of his life must have been.