17 Best Movies Like Into The Wild For Nature Lovers

Movies like Into the Wild, based on the true story of Christopher McCandless, the movie is about a man who finds himself through his own free will. Emile Hirsch gives a moving performance as McCandless, who is fed up with the selfishness and monotony of society and decides to leave it all. He hitches rides through different parts of the North American desert and calls himself “Alexander Supertramp.”

Many of us might think the story is a perfect world (until the very end, of course), but there are many lessons in it for real life. People who watch Into the Wild would feel calm and peaceful, which is almost healing. For those who liked Into the Wild, here are 17 more movies like Into the Wild.

Many people still find Sean Penn’s movie version of John Krakauer’s non-fiction book Into the Wild to be very moving and interesting, and every day new fans discover it. That’s why we decided to add 5 more forest movies that you might enjoy if you liked Into the Wild.

The Top 17 Movies Like Into The Wild:

Gerry

This sad and sparse drama is about two hikers who get lost in the southwestern United States. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play the lead roles.

The movie is loosely based on a true story. It is mostly told through long, slow, beautiful takes of the two main characters walking through their empty landscape, trying to find their way. What the lack of dialogue leaves out is painfully clear through Damon and Affleck’s naturalistic performances.

The Way

In this spiritual drama, Emilio Estevez directs his father, the great Martin Sheen. The story is about an old man who starts a walking journey in Spain to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to find meaning in his life after his son dies. He meets a lot of other visitors and learns about their problems along the way. Hearing about them helps him feel better.

The Way is both a lighthearted and serious philosophy film at times. Its unique mix of moods and drama makes it a moving story about faith and loss.

The Loneliest Planet

This action movie is about a young couple named Alex and Nica, played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Hailee Steinfeld. As the story goes on, both of them learn a lot about themselves and each other. Not everyone liked The Loneliest Planet (2011), but I thought it was one of the most haunting and memorable trip movies I’ve ever seen. The story is easy to follow: The couple hires a guide to take them camping through a remote mountain pass while they are on vacation.

When things go wrong, survival mode takes over, which has some surprising effects. Both people have to think about who they are, their relationship, and what’s most important to them. I watched The Loneliest Planet a long time before my first trip to Georgia. I had no idea that it was shot in the Caucasus Mountains! The film’s slow pace and very little speech (no quote to use here!) bring out the beauty of its setting and make the themes it explores stand out.

It’s honest, raw, and sometimes painful, but that’s what changing travel is all about, right?

Jungle

Real-life traveler Yossi Ghinsberg is played by Daniel Radcliffe as he gets lost in the Amazon jungle while trying to find a remote tribe.

Without knowing where he is or how to get back to civilization, Yossi is left to fight for himself in the wild, where things can happen at any time. His trip turns into a terrifying ordeal that shows how powerful nature is.

Lean on Pete

When bad things happen in a young man’s life, he becomes mentally attached to an old racehorse named “Lean on Pete.” He steals Pete to keep him from going to the butcher, and the two of them go across the country to try to find a family who can take them in.

The movie is a heartbreaking coming of age story that shows how hard life can be by using both beautiful cinematography and completely honest reality.

180 Degrees South

Only two of the movies on this list are documentaries like Into the Wild. One is 180 Degrees South (2010). You may not know who Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins are, but you will know the name of the company they started: Patagonia. 180 Degrees South is a famous action movie that retraces an important trip the two of them took in 1968, when they went from California to Chile by land.

The movie mixes Chouinard and Tompkins’ home video with new footage shot by traveler Jeff Johnson who tried to make the same trip. As Jeff follows in the paths of his heroes, he discovers the rough landscape that made them want to start their own ethical clothing line and use their savings to protect the environment for future generations.

Talks with Chouinard and Tompkins are also in the movie. This trip movie shows the pure spirit of adventure and tells the interesting story behind one of the most famous brand names in the world.

The Way Back

In this very long jail break story, a group of prisoners escape from a Siberian gulag. The players have to walk through every kind of rough terrain you can think of in one of the least populated places on Earth.

As directed by Peter Weir, The Way Back is a very different kind of war movie. It’s an epic story of people who don’t give up when they are faced with crushing odds.

Also Read: Heavenly Delusion Season 2 Release Date and Plot Updates

The Motorcycle Diaries

In this Spanish coming-of-age movie, Gael García Bernal plays Ernest “Che” Guevara, a rebel hero. As you might expect from a Che Guevara biopic, the movie doesn’t show any political talks or guerrilla fighting. Instead, it only shows the early parts of his life.

Ernesto is shown in the movie as a young medical student who goes on a motorcycle trip across South America with his friend Alberto. During his travels, he learns about some hard truths about society and is moved by the plight of native people in different countries. This makes him want to help their cause later on in life. The movie is a moving look at how travel and new experiences can completely change a person. It is based on Guevara’s autobiography. Supertramp made the choice to change his life for himself in Into the Wild. Che Guevara, on the other hand, makes the choice to change the lives of those around him.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Formed by the Coen brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) is a dark comedy that walks the line between a biopic and a drama epic. The movie is partly set in Greenwich Village and makes fun of Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan. It’s a dirty movie with some darker themes that reminds me of Into the Wild.

Parts of the movie are based on the story of folk singer Dave Van Ronk. Oscar Isaac plays Llewyn, a singer who is having a hard time and has a lot of problems in his personal life. He drives across the country to get to Chicago, which is the most exciting part of the movie. Along the way, he faces even more problems.

Captain Fantastic

It looks like Captain Fantastic is a sweet take on movies like “Into the Wild.” Viggo Mortensen’s Ben Cash is a man who lives a simple life in the woods with his whole family, a lot like the Supertramp. But after the death of his wife, he chooses to bring his kids back into the selfish society he used to live in.

The results are funny because the family has to deal with problems they didn’t expect at all. Mortensen gives a moving performance as a confused but responsible dad. But the moral problems and social comedy are what really make the movie worth seeing.

Leave No Trace

The idea behind Leave No Trace, directed by Debra Granik, is similar to that of another family-bonding movie. In this independent story as well, a father and daughter try to get back into normal life after being kicked off the National Park land where they lived off the grid. But her father is stubborn and wants to go back to his old ways, while the daughter is ready to try normal life.

The movie doesn’t have much of a plot; instead, Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie’s strong performances show a lot of the complicated feelings. If dark, slow-moving movies make you feel bad, this is the movie for you.

Lion

I remember very clearly the first time I saw the Lion (2016) trailer at my neighborhood movie theater. I rushed out and bought a copy of the personal book it’s based on before it came out. Lion is still one of my favorite movies, even though I liked the book better than the movie.

It’s hard to believe that everything in the story is real. It starts with Saroo Brierley, a young man played by Dev Patel who was born and raised in a small town in India. He falls asleep on an interstate train and is split from his family in a very sad way. Sadoo tries to get back home but fails. He ends up in a shelter, where he is taken in by an Australian couple who adopt him. As an adult, Saroo goes back to India to start the most important trip of all: he wants to find his city and get back in touch with the family he lost years ago. It’s hard to believe how he does it… You’ll have to see the movie to learn what happens!

Moonrise Kingdom

Even though Wes Anderson is known for his unique style of serious, emotionless humor, he can also make movies that make people cry, like Moonrise Kingdom. The movie doesn’t fit into a single genre because it’s partly an action movie and partly a coming-of-age epic.

The story is about two young lovers who leave their town and don’t want to be a part of society. Even though they haven’t thought about it much, they still want to live together in the wild because they love each other and like to try new things. At the same time, the town goes on a search party to look for these kids. It’s one of Anderson’s most remembered movies because of its moving story, themes of innocence, and trademark style and fun.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Taika Waititi, who was born and raised in New Zealand, was a master of edgier kid comedies long before Jojo Rabbit. His 2016 adventure comedy was New Zealand’s highest-grossing movie. In this case too, a national search is set up to find a kid who has gone missing and his grumpy foster uncle. The only difference is that these two run away into the wild against their will and quickly become wanted by the government.

Some may know Julian Dennison as the kid from Deadpool 2, and Sam Neil has been acting for a long time. Their performances, along with Waititi’s strange script, make Hunt for the Wilderpeople a great movie. The places that are nice to look at are an extra bonus.

Swiss Army Man

I must say that I had to watch Swiss Army Man (2016) a few times before I could get through the first 15 minutes. This movie is pretty strange, especially at the beginning, and some people might not like it, but keep watching it.

The plot of the story is very common: Someone (Hank, played by Paul Dano), gets lost on an island by himself and is about to give up when all of a sudden he realizes he’s not alone. One difference is that it’s not another person, but a dead body with skills (in this case, Daniel Radcliffe as Manny).

As Hank and Manny go through different problems together, they become strange and creepy friends. This movie is weird and different from any other I’ve seen. If you like weird independent movies, you should put it on your list of movies to watch.

127 Hours

The main character in “Into the Wild” chooses to fall in love with nature in order to find something new and have a journey. It’s likely that the main character in 127 Hours, played by James Franco, has the same goals, but things go wrong for him right away. This is based on a true story. Canyoneer Aron Ralston gets stuck by a rock in a remote canyon and has no food or water. He only has a camera and his hand is stuck under a rock.

There are parts of 127 Hours that are so heartbreaking that they make it seem like a survival horror story. The scary parts of the movie are AR Rahman’s tense background music and the fact that the plot is based on real events.

Wild

There are things that everyone does to deal with loss. Wild author Chery Strayed’s way is to go on an unusual journey. In an Oscar-nominated performance, Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, a real-life backpacker who went on a 100-mile walk by herself to get over a personal loss. So, her trip moves her and makes her life different from now on. Along with Witherspoon, Laura Dern shines as the main character’s mother.

In many ways, Wild is like Into the Wild, from the title to the idea. Even though the second Supertramp doesn’t lose anything personally, the fact that his parents are married in a violent way makes him sad and makes him want to leave society totally.

Conclusion:

We want to leave our safe zones and try new things because of movies like Into the Wild. They tell us that there are a lot of options in life, whether we go on trips by ourselves or with other people. Get some popcorn and a movie from this list, then let your wanderlust take over!

Also Read: 16 Best Terrifying Movies Like Sinister to Watch Tonight