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Movies shot in the wilderness are something truly special. Whether it’s coincidental or not, films with the plot based in the woods are many times based on true events. Or, if they’re not necessarily “true”, they revolve around fantasy and tales to lead the way, guiding the viewers on adventures that they wish they could be a part of. A lot of flicks with this basis, with shaky cameras and only a handful of characters, strive off of being realistic to grab the audience’s attention. When one is watching 127 Hours (2011) and James Franco cuts off his own arm, the response is as if the viewer is actually there, and witnessing the grotesque action, recoiling in their seat and covering their eyes. Everest (2015) was based on the true story of amateur mountain climbers trekking up Mt. Everest, and the disastrous story that came to be due to the recklessness. The Sun states that because this film was based on a true story, it makes the plot that much better and poignant.
While there is a long roster of movies that take place in the woods, here’s five of the best.
5 Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Loosely based on the childhood of Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom is a tale of young love and rebellion. When twelve-year-old Sam Shakusky gets sent to a scout camp for the summer, he meets the love of his young life, Suzy Bishop. It’s a great summer camp flick that has several touching moments. It’s lighthearted, keeping the audience captivated with the coloring of the movie, as well as the cast. Through several of his movies, Anderson uses and re-uses certain actors that he keeps in his inner circle, such as Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, who appeared in this coming-of-age flick.
4 Wild (2014)
Based on the memoir written by Cheryl Strayed, Reese Witherspoon shines in this movie, as she physically walks the Pacific Crest Trail, and emotionally walks through grief and heartbreak. Witherspoon plays Cheryl, a woman who goes through losing her mother, a drug addiction, and a divorce, all in a short period of time. So, she packs up and heads out to walk hundreds of miles by herself. The audience is taken on an emotional journey, as Cheryl is able to find closure and peace on this long walk, getting in a stranger’s trucks and losing toenails along the way. It’s inspiring, and according to Time, Cheryl Strayed actually lost six toenails while walking, due to her boots not fitting, but she kept trucking along because she couldn’t give up.
3 Into the Wild (2007)
Sean Penn directs, writes, and produces this true story based off the life of Christopher McCandless, an individual who left home at a young age and courageously decided to hike through North America and up into the Alaskan wilderness. The audience follows Christopher’s journey, as he gets used to living by himself and braving the dangers of the wilderness with little-to-no protection. It’s made clear that throughout the film, as well as the book, that was written about his life, McCandless had a passion for adventure and living his life in the moment, rather than letting life pass him by without accomplishing anything. He was only twenty-four, and spent four months of living in the mountains when he died of starvation from living off of plants and limited sustenance. Into the Wild has an important story to tell, and will make the viewer think about the state of their life by the end of it.
2 The Revenant (2015)
Gaining Leonardo DiCaprio his first ever Oscar win for Best Actor, The Revenant is based on the true story of Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), a hunter and American frontiersman that lived nearly two centuries ago. Glass is part of the fur trade and a great hunter, but when Glass is attacked and mauled by a bear, his team leaves him to die and bleed out. However, Glass lives and watches as one of his closest confidants kills his only son right in front of him, thinking that Glass was just going to die there and not seek revenge. Glass finds enough strength to start traveling through the wilderness by himself to avenge his son, Hawk, vowing to kill Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). This movie has great cinematic moments, as well as heart-stopping ones, leaving the viewer breathless and shivering.
1 The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The marketing on this film made it so successful, that it’s still talked about to this day. The Blair Witch Project was marketed as a documentary; as a terrible true story that took place in 1994 to three friends/filmmakers. Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard team up to walk through the Black Hills in Maryland to try and track down local legend, the Blair Witch. This film exploded the “found footage technique”, telling audiences that what they were seeing was literal found footage from the cameras the three individuals were holding throughout the film. It’s unnerving and unsettling, as the audience watches Donahue, Williams, and Leonard get lost in the woods and start to turn on each other. It’s one of the most successful independent films ever, and had a budget of $60,000, proving that iconic movies such as this one, didn’t need millions of dollars to be successful.
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