Movie of the Month - Wild

Written on the 10th March 2022.

“Wild” is the true story of one woman’s “remarkable journey of self-discovery and redemption that strengthens and ultimately heals her”, according to the Amazon synopsis.

Reese Witherspoon (on our birthday honours list for March), stars as 26-year old Cheryl Strayed, who, after the sudden death of her mother, and a subsequent period of self-destructive behaviour, takes inspiration from a guide book on display in a hardware store to hike over 1000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail during the summer of 1995. She is determined to “walk herself back to the woman her mother raised her to be”.

The movie starts with her physically battling her oversized backpack. Almost twice her size, it topples her as she tries to put it on. Interestingly, over the course of the 2-hour movie, the relationship between Cheryl and her luggage evolves : although she initially perceives it as awkward and ugly - and occasionally worthless - she eventually comes to accept that it is necessary, particularly after a fellow hiker helps her to lighten the load by removing burdensome / superfluous items. The backpack, of course, is her metaphorical self. In her TEDx talk on radical sincerity, Cheryl confirms that one of the most important lessons from her experience was understanding that when we accept our “backpack”, we can use what’s in it to help us to keep walking.

When Cheryl made her decision to take on this extraordinary adventure alone, she claimed “I’m going to put my feet in the way of beauty”. The film certainly delivers - the scenery throughout the movie is stunning – I either felt like I was there or I wanted to be there! The backdrop of the American open space reminded me, too, of the hike I took with my sister in 1992, where I saw the resilient Juniper tree growing in the desert of the Grand Canyon, which ultimately inspired me to create Juniper 10 years later.

Cheryl describes the wilderness in terms of “radical aloneness”, which offered her the space, time, and silence to reflect and heal (in the first eight days alone, she didn’t encounter a single human being!) In the movie, she evidently becomes less frightened of the wilderness as she leans into it and it becomes her space. It prompted me to think of Brené Brown’s 2017 book “Braving the Wilderness”, in which she writes, “The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breath-taking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.” Cheryl and Brené clearly share the view that the physical and metaphorical wilderness helps to increase our self-awareness, something we often forget when we lead such busy lives.

Although not a new film, I thought it fitting to pick it during the month that Juniper celebrates its 20th birthday because we, too, have been on a journey! We have encountered and overcome challenges, we have met many interesting characters, and have experienced kindness and much adventure!

But perhaps most of all, we have learned how to keep taking each step (sometimes painful, but mostly joyful) with our own ”backpacks”.