ROME (AFP) — Sean Penn's patience with a grieving family finally paid off, resulting in "Into the Wild," the true story of a young man's journey of self-discovery that turns into tragedy.
"There was a 10-year period before they allowed me to make a movie of the story," Penn said Wednesday of Walt and Billie McCandless, whose son set off unannounced on the ill-fated adventure in 1990. "Stubbornness has been my greatest friend."
Chris McCandless' two-year odyssey through the western United States with stops in Arizona, California and South Dakota en route to the wilds of Alaska was chronicled in a 1997 bestseller by Jon Krakauer.
Shortly after graduating from university with honours, McCandless donated his life savings to charity to pursue his ambitious, idealistic and ultimately foolhardy dream, drawing inspiration from Jack London and Henry David Thoreau.
"A fraction of the story was driven by fleeing something," Penn said. "But the dominant anchor was the pursuit of something that made sense to him, to who he was. It's a celebration of freedom and the pursuit of that."
Penn said he thought young Americans should be encouraged to "take risks -- not reckless endangerment, but at least make the heart beat faster ... to make the effort to step outside of their comfort zone."
He added: "The main issue is that ... each individual in their own way must be ready to do whatever's necessary -- to make a real job out of finding out who they are, and to do it on their own terms."
McCandless, played by US television and film actor Emile Hirsch, recounted his meeting with the McCandless family. Chris' sister Carine "illuminated for me really who McCandless was. She talks about him as if he's almost still around," he told reporters.
Hirsch said he strove for authenticity in the role. "I was conscious of not trying to make him a martyr ... not letting him off the hook in situations where he was maybe selfish, immature or reckless."
The film is the fourth stint at directing for Penn, who won an Oscar for best actor with "Mystic River" (2003).
"I've increasingly fallen in love with this job of being a director," he said Wednesday.
"Into the Wild," which has already been released in the United States, had its European premiere at the RomeFilmFest, out of competition.
Also Wednesday, Chinese director Gu Changwei unveiled his second film, "And the Spring Comes," after clinching the Silver Bear at the Berlin film festival in 2005 with "Peacock."
Set in China in the 1980s, "And the Spring Comes" relates the story of a young opera teacher who dreams of taking to the stage in Beijing.
"I've never been pretty and all I have is my voice," the character Wang Cai-Ling says as she looks in a mirror.
To play the role, Jiang Wenli had to put on 18 kilos (40 pounds) and spend long hours in makeup to be made unattractive.
Set as China emerges from the Cultural Revolution, the film reflects a period of renewed hope, Gu said in director's notes.
The second annual RomeFilmFest, with 14 films in competition and 15 world premieres, runs until Saturday when a popular jury will announce their choices of best film, best actress and actor, and a special jury prize.
The festival, the brainchild of Rome's mayor and film buff Walter Veltroni, last year drew 480,000 moviegoers with its populist format.
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