Dinner and a movie: 'Into the Wild' and American restaurants

Everyone just assumes that life begins after college. The reality of the situation though, is that once college is over, it's a long uphill struggle until one could consider oneself independent.

That wasn't the case for Christopher McCandless. In June 1990, he graduated with honors from Emory University in Atlanta. He then proceeded to burn all forms of identification, donate his entire life savings to the Oxford Famine Relief Fund and drive West to embrace a life of pure visceral experience.

Admittedly, that sounds like a far-fetched plot to a movie. And it is. It's called "Into the Wild," starring Emile Hirsch and directed by Sean Penn. However, the film is also based on the nonfiction book of the same name. McCandless existed, did all the things above and traveled the entire United States for two years before finally reaching the place he idealized: Alaska.

After his graduation from Emory, Chris drove his old car until it died in the desert of Arizona. He then abandoned it, buried most of his possessions, burned his cash and continued on. The film and book detail the journey. Chris changed his name to "Alexander Supertramp" to help embrace his new identity and make it more difficult for his family to find him. Inspired by the readings of Leo Tolstoy, Henry David Thoreau and Jack London, McCandless lived off the land as much as possible, getting part-time jobs to gain some cash and developing relationships with fellow travelers. All the while, his aim was to make it to the serene state of Alaska where he could be one with nature and reject the materialistic society of America.

"Into the Wild" is a powerful, beautiful film made all the more interesting by its basis in reality. And while traveling across country with nothing but the clothes on your back is fantasy for most people, watching "Into the Wild" helps feed anyone's appetite for freedom. Before the film, feed that other appetite with some good old-fashioned American cuisine, the country that Christopher McCandless simultaneously rejected and embraced.

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The Brickhouse

Where: 1 King St., Marlboro

Hours/days: lunch — 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; dinner — 5-9 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., 5-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3-8 p.m Sun.

Call: 236-3765

Copper Bottom

Where: 162 N. Main St., Florida

Hours/days: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri., 5-10 p.m. Sat., 2-8 p.m. Sun.

Call: 651-5700

The Gilded Otter

Where: 3 Main St., New Paltz

Hours/days: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-9 p.m. Sun.

Call: 256-1700

AMC Galleria Metroplex 16 and AMC Palisades Center 21. It starts next week at the Downing Film Center.