This is a movie recommendation.Yesterday my best friend and I went to see Into the Wild, a new movie written and directed by Sean Penn, with original music by Eddie Vedder.It is the true story of Christopher McCandless, a young idealist who, upon graduating from college, decides that participation in society is worthless. So he takes off without a word to anyone, abandons his car, burns his cash, and starts walking around Arizona with his backpack. His next two years are spent exploring the beautiful western United States, meeting and relying on the kindness of strangers, and building up courage and strength for an adventure in Alaska. He is a reader of Jack London and Henry David Thoreau, so his mind is filled with ideas of living off the land and “sucking out all the marrow of life” (from Thoreau, look it up).The story is sad, tragic, and completely beautiful. At least one quarter of the audience sat in the theater through the entire credits, not wanting to move and not knowing what to say. The film brings up fundamental questions on–cliche warning–the meaning of life and where our priorities lie. What do we actually need in life to survive and be happy? McCandless would have simply said LESS. I highly recommend this movie, along with the book by Jon Krakauer on which it is based. Krakauer did the research and detective work to retrace McCandless’s steps, but in the film the author is removed from the story, which makes it an even more powerful story. Read it, watch it, and allow it to challenge you. here is a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek PS The movie has an “R” rating for some strong language and hippie nudity.