I've seen it a couple of times and it just seemed like a lonely way to live to me. He had friends fly in supplies every few weeks, but other than that, he was mostly alone. It seemed to suit him, though. Proenneke obviously learned some useful skills from his time in the navy and on the job as a mechanic which surely helped him survive. However, he was also incredibly intelligent and talented, much more so than the average person in my opinion. He's fun to watch and somehow makes mundane tasks seem exciting. Overall though, sometimes the movie seemed like a grand adventure about outwitting nature, other times it felt like he could've ended up like Timothy Treadwell. He didn't, but maybe that's just luck.