Der große Trip - Wild

Der Bruder Dein Weg von Emilio Estevez, in dem sich ein Vater auf die Suche nach seinem toten Sohn macht, hat mich mehr gefangen genommen. Er hatte eine interessantere Interaktion zwischen den Figuren, welche der Hauptheld auf seinem Weg traf. Der große Trip - Wild enthält ein paar prima Szenen, er hat eine angenehme Outdoor-Stimmung und Reese strengt sich wirklich an. Aber die Flashbacks, welche die Beziehungen zu den Personen in ihrer Vergangenheit darstellen, sind nicht der Antrieb des Films, obwohl sie es gern wären und es auch sein sollten. In dieser Hinsicht war das Flashback-Leben von Aron Ralston in 127 Hours viel stärker und in der Konfrontation mit der Situation, welche die Hauptfigur aktuell klären musste, nahm es mich völlig gefangen. Trotzdem ist aber Der große Trip - Wild immer noch ein guter Film, der dreieinhalb Sterne verdient. (07.03.2015)

Beautiful scenery, a charismatic girl, Simon and Garfunkel, a meaningful story and emotions. If I were to recall something similar in type and genre, the last time I enjoyed a film like this was Penn's Into the Wild eleven years ago. The protagonist of that one had different motivations, but both have something in common: they are searching for themselves in a beautiful, purifying landscape. At the beginning I wasn't really hooked, the sudden cuts were a bit confusing, but as time went on I got incredibly engaged. I understood the main character, I envied her determination to do something with herself, and I'm so glad that Vallée didn't slip into cheap tropes, that some scenes that could have slid into a fatal ending were resolved in a different way and the clichés were avoided. And the way Vallée works with flashbacks is a masterpiece, too. And especially Reese – she put everything into the role, she even produced it herself; girl I admire you! Reese is just a God-given talent, like Vallée, I have yet to see a bad or even just mediocre film from him. (21.09.2018)

Though Wild is very well rhythmised in twenty-minute segments, due to the logic of the plot new revelations cannot reverse the course of events, but only contribute to our understanding of the protagonist. Especially in the final third, we could criticise the film for the fact that it suffers from a low level of action and structural repetitiveness. However, if we don’t judge it by the standards of mannishly linear “action” films, the narrative cyclicity with the returning of motifs as fixed ideas (instead of development of those motifs) is conversely what makes Wild a unique film that is both outwardly and inwardly feminist. 80% (07.03.2015)

Reese Witherspoon delivered quite a respectable performance in this movie. Already in the beginning, she showed how easily a chipped nail can be torn from a toe which went through a two-hundred-kilometer hike on a trek across the Rocky Mountains with an elevation gain of least thirty kilometers. After a moment, however, a totally typical story began to unravel. It shows us Reese who is going through purgatory, at first without showing the reason, and we’ll only get to know the reason gradually, from the glimpses of her memories. It took me some time to attune to her, and about a halfway into the movie everything was clear to me. And from that moment I started to really enjoy the movie. Too bad that the ending was too open. I like open endings in movies like this but in this case it kind of faded away into nothing. The Way (2010) is much better in this respect. Anyhow, Reese’s performance was really great – I’d say even greater that the elevation gain she had to tackle during the movie. (26.02.2015)

Ein konventionelles Reisedrama über die Suche nach sich selbst, welches Jean-Marc Vallée über die meiste Zeit hinweg mit interessanten Rückblenden ankurbelt. Diese entfalten mehrere thematische Handlungsstränge, die wiederum bei der magnetisierenden Reese Witherspoon zusammenlaufen. Ihre Verwandlung von einer verängstigten Novizin, die es nicht einmal vermag, ihren eigenen Rucksack aufzusetzen, bishin zur Königin des PCT, erleben wir derart imposant mit, so dass man den Balanceakt am Rande des Kitschs gerne vergisst, mitsamt der etwas dilettanten Symbolik und sowie dem in die Länge gezogenen letzten Drittel. Es soll hier nicht heißen, dass der "Büchercharakter" von Hornbys Drehbuch dem Ganzen zu einer ausgeprägten Haltbarkeit und Tiefe verhelfen würde, jedoch als abendfüllende angenehme spirituelle Reise durch eine wunderschöne Landschaft ist es vollkommen OK. (06.03.2015)

When you cheat and take drugs, you become a prostitute... What is surprising is that the Wild is also good in terms of the intimate and chamber line "lonesome Witherspoon - inhospitable nature - endless purifying walk - the eternal self-question of the heroine". On the contrary, on this level, it does the job really well. To the extent that it makes you want to take a bag pack, go on a solitary hike and at the same time clear your head. The only drawback are the unnatural flashbacks, which at first can do with only hints/flashes in a nice way, but the closer Cheryl's journey comes to an end, the more literal and didactic they are. But what it only takes is one alpaca and everything what should be said becomes instantly clear. (28.02.2015)

Reese Witherspoon has decided to reminisce about her more ambitious beginnings and go back to the time before she melted into average commercial comedies. Unfortunately, for my taste, this film is predictable and not very interesting from a psychological and dramatic perspective. I can't remember the last time I found flashbacks so annoying, as they completely disrupt the storytelling. Without them, I would probably give it a cautious three stars - but like this, I can't even give it that. Overall impression: 45%. (18.11.2017)

Im Nachhinein, nach Big Little Lies, fällt es leicht, Jean-Marc Vallées Zusammenarbeit mit Reese Witherspoon und Laura Dern wertzuschätzen. Eine angenehme Erfahrung. Obwohl das Thema nicht von dieser Welt zu sein scheint. Wer sich von diesem Abenteuer zu Fuß durch die Wildnis führen lässt, kann aber auch das gleichnamige autobiografische Buch von Cheryl Strayed nutzen. (15.02.2020)

There are two reasons to check out these spiritual odysseys like Wild or Into The Wild: the haunting scenery and spiritual cleansing, or at least the psychological nitty-gritty of a main character full of opinions, attitudes and experiences that come into direct confrontation with the question of whether this or that decision is good or bad. With a little imagination, everyone will find themselves, at least for a while in some passages. They have done it cleverly and for good measure put in basically all the negative model situations that can happen to a person from an early age (a bully father, illness, poverty, drugs, etc.). Wild is less psychedelic and puts more emphasis on family, relationships and the formation of what one should have, or not have in life and what one should prioritise. Reese Witherspoon is convincing and solid, but doesn't, as it tends to do, get under the skin as she should, as despite all the blood and sweat it's still just a bedtime story, or rather a good morning one. (16.11.2015)

Better than Into the Wild, it works much better with the dosing of information and always has something to reveal. Reese is great and you never lose interest in her character, though many of the scenes are not precisely the most memorable (but many are enriched by “El Condor Pasa”). For me it’s also valuable as an educational documentary – I realised that I would go on a long nature trip only with a bunch of armed friends and accompanied by a car carrying beer, a coolbox and a grill. That would be proper wilderness. 75% (09.04.2020)

Ein Film, der mich schändlich verfehlte, bis Netflix ihn mir vor die Nase servierte. Ein ausgezeichneter Film mit einem beeindruckenden Schnitt, der dem Film die richtige Note verleiht, er verlangt die Aufmerksamkeit des Zuschauers und enthüllt allmählich die Vergangenheit und den Grund für Cheryls Entscheidung, einen so beschwerlichen Weg einzuschlagen. Die Geschichte zog mich von Anfang an in ihren Bann. Wenn ich mir den Namen des Drehbuchautors anschaue, wundert es mich nicht. Mein Lieblingsschriftsteller, der mich mit seinen Romanen immer schon von der ersten Seite an mitreißen konnte. Der verstorbene Regisseur Jean-Marc Vallée hat offensichtlich gerne mit Reese und Laura zusammengearbeitet und diese Zusammenarbeit hat sowohl im Film als auch in Serien Früchte getragen. Eine sehr schöne Geschichte, die mein Herz berührt hat und mich zum Nachdenken über mein eigenes Leben anregt. Die Musik darf ich auch nicht vergessen, sie rundet die ganze Geschichte meisterhaft ab. (21.01.2024)

I like these movies where a person tries to discover themselves through nature. There is plenty of nature here, there are perfectly concentrated flashbacks, and the excellent acting performances are not missing either. It is not a cruel film, there are just emotionally strong scenes. It could have been a bit tougher here and there, but Reese still delivers a performance that is the best for me. (01.02.2015)

What makes Wild wonderful is that it uses all of its impressive scenery (and it has its share) as a secondary means for making an extremely intimate and humanly emotional narrative that perfectly captures perhaps the most overused cliché of all, that the journey is the destination. Despite all the difficulties and complications during the expedition itself, it is actually beautiful to watch the gradual process of inner cleansing and ultimate detachment from all the ugly traumas of life. Moreover, Reese Witherspoon gives one of her best performances ever. The final scene on the Bridge of the Gods has incredible emotional power. [75%] (09.07.2021)