The Revenant (2015), R, ★★★★

Leo trekking in the wilderness.

How in the world did the filmmakers go through the experience of making this movie? I'd actually want to watch the behind-the-scenes of the movie because some of those conditions look like murder threatening their health. But, watching this movie made me realize the unfair reality and graciousness of the possessions I have because, to tell you truth, I am not a needy person but many people are greedy. It's tough for people in those times to survive in that snowy, harsh landscape in the icy-cold conditions but that's what Hugh Glass was going through to push their limits to get his revenge. Even though it may have been a revenge story, it is beautifully simple structural film full of symbolism and poetic artistry immersing ourselves in this fantastic movie.

The movie commences in 1823 in which a quasi-military hunting party of fur-trappers and fur-hunters are hunting for pelts in an ambiguous northern territory under the command of Captain Andrew Henry (Downhill Gleeson). One of the more experienced fur trappers that Captain Henry admires is Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who brings along his half-breeded Indian son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), on the voyage. They unfortunately lost their wife/mother in a surprise attack when Hawk was young. But, the very hostile Arikara Indians result in a surprise attack and ambush the hunting party, which allows about half of the hunters to barely escape on one of their rafts alive and salvaging as many pelts as they can.

They are still under pursuit of the Arikara Indians and while in the forest, Glass stumbles upon a mother bear and her cubs, while he is separated from the party, and is mauled and mortally wounded by the bear protecting her cubs. Nearly dead, he receives desperate medical attention from the party and is transported via a makeshift stretcher which slows down the party's movement.

Because of his condition, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), a criminal running from old debts, along with a young fur-trapper, Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Hawk stay behind for payment to take care of Glass and get back to the base later. However, Fitzgerald has had enough of Glass' suffering so he attempts to kill him by smothering him even though Glass cannot speak, but Hawk interferes and when struggling to fight, he gets killed by Fitzgerald. When Bridger returns from the rive, Fitzgerald tells him that there are men coming and need to abandon Glass and leave him for dead. Glass will not forget what happened.

Tom Hardy ready for action. 

This movie is a raw and grueling experience to watch but the whole experience is worth your time. The movie is a basic revenge story surrounded by spiritual themes and environmental scenery that makes Cast Away look like a summer vacation for Tom Hanks. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's lensing and camerawork embodies the scope and images of the frontier as both a wintry hell and a spiritual and soulful outlook of the wilderness. He captures the artistic poetry in his Terrence Malick-like take of how blessed we are to have our goods and witness how many people have to endure the icy and windy conditions in those times.

Let's devote this whole paragraph to one scene I want to talk about: the bear scene. I do not know how they did it but I was blown away by that scene. Watching DiCaprio getting "mauled" by that mother bear (and it is hard for a female bear to rape a man, so there's no bear rape) was both exhilarating and cringe-inducing to watch. We hear Leo's screams and we see him getting tossed around and being smelled in close-up and some bone crunches and it is like we are there with him. The scene is a technical achievement, actually, overall, the movie is a technical achievement.

Leonardo DiCaprio is so determined and challenging in this movie that we are both astonished and sympathetic towards him and his character to go through such a rough time being in an icy hell-hole and trying to survive which include being in a horse carcass. He gives a silent and powerful performance as a fur-trapper trying to get revenge and become vulnerable as he sees hallucinations of his dead son and wife. He's a leading contender to win the Oscar. Tom Hardy in his villainous role is over-the-top but grisly as a man who seems to run away from fear and confront them in his own way by making people miserable. He's well matched with DiCaprio especially in the climactic fight scene. Domnhall Gleeson, in a brilliant year with Brooklyn, Ex Machina, The Force Awakens, gives a subtly good performance and so does Will Poulter as the young fur-trader.

Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inñarítu coming off from Birdman fame, which won the Best Picture and Best Director award, has made a great follow-up in which not many directors can do after winning the coveted award. Him and Lubezki has made a virtuoso film being supported by the bleak, atmospheric score of Ryuchi Nakamoto, Bryce Dessner and Alva Noto in which most of the fur-trappers are enduring the hard conditions of the wilderness but also capturing Glass' willingness to survive. There's a blend of Terrence Malick in some of the poetic shots and a little hint of Fellini in the ending that I thought was rich in which we just hear the cold wind as it goes black to screen and it is haunting.

It is one of the most gut-wrenching movies of the year but also one of the best movies of the year as it balanced the journey, the action and the character story. The first act is the action, the second act is the journey and the last act is the revenge story and they all work because it blends into Glass' psyche into letting himself go of going the distance of fulfilling his spiritual struggle to survive based on his hallucinations of his wife and son. The movie is not for everybody because there are some gruesome scenes but the movie is close to cinematic magic.

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