A Pinoy At The Movies: WILD

A minute into the film and I alread knew what it was all about. Wild is another autobiographical film about trekking, losing one's self up in the mountains and finding one's self down at the low lands...with the occasional accidents. 

Reese Witherspoon's Wild reminded me of James Franco's 127 Hours. Franco earned an Oscar best actor nomination for that film, but he had to lose limb first. Witherspoon also earned a best actress Oscar nomination for this one and she had to lose a toe nail, too. Yes, it was eeeeww! on the first five minutes of this film. Be prepared to cringe; it didn't look pleasant. Ha-ha-ha!

Wild is based on Cheryl Strayed's book about her trek through the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in order to deal with her recent divorce and her personal issues. It's quite admirable; she hiked more than a thousand kilometers over three months in order to deal with her issues. For me, a pepperoni pizza and a pint of jamoca almond fudge ice cream would have been just fine.

Aside from having all the time to think and ponder about her life and her tragedies, she walked, climbed, waded, begged, got injured, got scared, hitched rides, made friends and anything else that could happen to a lone female hiker.

Aside from being two hours of trekking lessons, this film is also a panoramic delight of amazing scenery of mountains, plains and a few nudity. Ha-ha-ha!  Why is it that most of the time, when an actress goes topless, she gets nominated for an Oscar, or even win one? Holly Hunter bared her breasts in The Piano, and so did Kate Winslet in The Reader. Both actresses won.

I remember the cheery, gullible Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde, but in Wild, she's all serious, mature and able to take off her clothes for any man she fancied. Although she already won an Oscar best actress for Walk The Line, she certainly deserves another best actress nomination for this one. Her co-star, Laura Dern, also earns a best supporting actress Oscar nomination, although I doubt she'd win. My money is on Patricia Arquette for Boyhood.

I climbed Seorak-san a few years ago; it's the third highest peak in South Korea. Climbing a high mountain is tough, especially for a lowlander like me. But it would even be tougher to walk a thousand miles with a heavy backpack with nothing to accompany you but your problems and sad stories. That's why I like this film. It was like a hiking the PCT and enjoying the incredible views with her, but not having to carry the backpack and not worrying about body odor or dehydration.

I'd recommend you watch the film and trek with her, too.  But why was it not nominated for best picture Oscar?

If you're in Seoul and want to watch Wild, you can still catch it at the Cinecube Cinema near Gwanghamun.