A walk in the woods

read the book dan-bill bryson,v enjoyable

The film didn't really do it for me - big fan of Bryson and have most of his books. As Rommel says have a read of the book - much better

Good book, and enjoyable film. Don't let the presence of Emma Thompson put you off - she's just there at the beginning and end, simpering and being pleased with herself as usual. But the bulk of the film is really all about Nick Nolte, playing Bryson's sort-of friend that he's lumbered himself with. Great portrayal of a wasted life, making clear that a wasted life is still a valid one, but you do have to put the effort in to waste it properly.

Hank: I think you have to distinguish what you can do in a book written in the first person from what you can illustrate in a film. It's a long time since I read the book, but I remember it as containing a lot of personal musings by Bryson about himself, about American history and about what the Trail says of the attitudes of American people towards their country.

That sort of thing is what the printed page is for, and Bryson the author makes good use of it. The film, on the other hand, lets us look in as outsiders on two men in late middle age, whose lives have diverged so conspicuously from their shared youth in the Midwest, and the effects the stunning and extreme landscape of the Trail has on their understanding of each other.

It's the same story, but from a different perspective, i.e. the viewer's rather than that of Bryson himself as the author.

Yes, fair point screaming. I prefer Bryson's musings I suppose. The scenery was fantastic though and I'd love to hike a part of it at some point. Easy to see how many people become obsessed with finishing the whole thing.

I did like the scene where Bryson/Redford gets the inspiration for his hike - just takes a stroll from his front gate, notices the Appalachian Trail signs as usual, and suddenly thinks, "Hang on. Why have I been ignoring this extraordinary aspect of my national life, right on my doorstep, all these years?"

There's a similar sort of thing down here in Somerset. Most days I walk the dog beside the River Tone to the betting shops in Taunton town centre, and when we start the return journey, there's a signpost in French Weir Park saying "Starcross 52 miles". And every day we just walk the first three miles, via Netherclay woods, until we get home. And until I saw that scene in the film, not once had it occurred to me to tackle the remaining 49 miles of the Two Counties Way (for it is that).

All right, it's only 52 miles, rather than 2,200, and the Quantocks are hardly the Appalachians, but that's Britain for you. It'll still be a waste of living in the West Country, if I never get round to walking it.

http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/routeslinkswalks/two-counties-way-walking-route