the revenantIt can be hard to appreciate just how different the frontier of America was two hundred years ago--an unfeeling wilderness, unspoiled by the hands of man. The Revenant is an account of survival in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, set at the earlier part of the 19th century. It is the story of scout Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his ill-fated excursion into the wilds with a team of trappers, one which eventually results in him being mauled by a bear and subsequently left for dead, then driven to track down his traitorous compatriot, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), to exact his revenge.
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The Revenant is directed and co-written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and was adapted from the novel of the same name by Michael Punke, which in turn was a dramatic account of the real life mountain man, Hugh Glass, whose expedition into the wilds to acquire pelts in what would become the Dakotas and his subsequent near-death experience would form the basis of the film. The Revenant is a meditation on man's role among nature, and his ultimate effect on his environment, filled with vast and majestic vistas of untamed landscapes, with wide and frequent establishing shots to showcase the stern and eternal wild, nature as a force of staggering power. Early on, the expedition is one unit; but following the difficulty traversing the terrain with the wounded Glass in tow, the decision is made to fragment the party, leading to a side story involving Fitzgerald and his youthful partner, Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), as well as the remaining team, led by leader Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). When Glass is finally abandoned, he is left in a grave prepared in anticipation of his demise, covered in dirt. His emergence from the soil is a "baptism by nature", resurrected from the earth not only due to his need to survive but to see justice done against Fitzgerald. The title, The Revenant, refers to the name of a reanimated corpse, transcending death for a mission or purpose, like revenge; even both "revenge" and "revenant" share the same Latin root word, reveniens, meaning "returning". Glass is a tough survivor, but he is also smart and resourceful, keeping himself alive by scavenging bone marrow from a carcass, cauterizing a wound in his neck with gunpowder, and even utilizing the body of a dead horse to keep himself warm in the winter. All of these are grisly examples, but The Revenant is a stark dramatization of the lengths to which a man determined to survive will go to do so. The big difference is that Glass succeeds in surviving by using the resources available to him provided by nature; his counterpart, Fitzgerald, generally manipulates events on a human level to turn things to his favor, and exploits his surroundings when he can. Fitzgerald's primary concern from the start is making money on the pelts they harvested, and capitalizing on the easy way out when available. In this way, the two men are opportunists, but on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to understanding one's surroundings.
The Revenant is composed in a kind of meditative way, with long stretches of time without background music, and with long shots of the wilds spanning for miles. The film reminds me of Werner Herzog's own journey into the heart of darkness, Aguirre, The Wrath of God, albeit somewhat in reverse. Whereas Herzog's film involved an expedition traveling ever deeper into the jungle, Glass and his fellow explorers are attempting to retreat back to their limited connection with civilization following a devastating ambush by a hostile band of Arikara natives. This opening scene is a tour de force, with several unbroken shots moving from one trapper to a native, and so on, and establishes the ubiquitous feeling that violence is never far away. The Arikara--referred to as "reeds" by the trappers--are persistent threat, looming in the forests, frequently ambushing Glass as he attempts to reach Fort Kiowa, not unlike the frequent attacks on the expedition down the Amazon River in Aguirre, The Wrath of God. Also in that film, the eponymous antagonist foments dissent and attempts to eliminate a wounded member of the party out of convenience, like Fitzgerald does. (Interestingly, Aguirre was played by frequent collaborator of Herzog's, Klaus Kinski, who also starred in Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, in which he coincidentally also played a man named Fitzgerald.) Fitzgerald represents the dark side of man's efforts to tame his surroundings, one which thrives on rapaciousness and greed, encroaching into the wild with an intrinsic desire to despoil the world. To emphasize the point, Fitzgerald recalls a story to Jim Bridger about his father, who he claims "discovered God" in a small forest, and he turned out to be a squirrel that he devoured.
Although not strictly a biopic of the frontiersman who barely survived the multitudinous attempts on his life, The Revenant does tease at the life of Hugh Glass prior to his harrowing ordeal through periodic flashbacks to his once peaceful life with his Pawnee wife and children. Due to tragedy, his wife was taken from him, and he is survived with his son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), whom he saved from near death, speaking to him as he lay dying and resuscitating him when he was younger, something Hawk later attempts to do in return for his father after being attacked. Glass' associations with the natives is not as much of a stigma to the majority of the trappers, but Fitzgerald does attempt to provoke him and Hawk early on, due to his frustration at the loss of so many pelts to the Arikara, spurred by Glass' assertion that they should take a safer--if slower--path through the mountains to escape their pursuers. Ironically, this safer route proves to be one which leads Glass into his unfortunate encounter with a protective grizzly bear, in a terrifying and violent encounter. The scene is tense and leaves Glass barely alive, practically ripped to shreds. It is also a representation of the sudden savagery in nature, and how no matter what one believes themselves to be a master of, it is the humility of the experience which proves to teach much to Glass about what he must do to live. Glass is motivated to live, however, and endures the ordeal, leaving the audience to question how much he can take. His drive is apparent even in small moments, such as when he points his crudely-fashioned walking stick--a mere branch--at a trio of caribou crossing a river, and for a moment, it seems to resemble a rifle, his determination to emerge triumphant evident even in this. His dreams are like visions, some which may have happened, some which might be fantasy, but usually concerning his deceased wife, who recalls a story to him in his mind about a tree in a storm, which may look like it may topple in the wind at the top, but when one looks at the roots, one sees the stability. This is the lesson of The Revenant, that even when faced with the impossible, determination and necessity can hold sway, provided you are willing to accept the terms of survival.
Recommended for: Fans of a dramatic and intense recreation of a time in history when the America we know looked far different, and the wilds surrounding us were far deadlier. It is also a tale of how far one can go--even when repeatedly faced with one's destruction--in order to accomplish something important.
The Revenant is composed in a kind of meditative way, with long stretches of time without background music, and with long shots of the wilds spanning for miles. The film reminds me of Werner Herzog's own journey into the heart of darkness, Aguirre, The Wrath of God, albeit somewhat in reverse. Whereas Herzog's film involved an expedition traveling ever deeper into the jungle, Glass and his fellow explorers are attempting to retreat back to their limited connection with civilization following a devastating ambush by a hostile band of Arikara natives. This opening scene is a tour de force, with several unbroken shots moving from one trapper to a native, and so on, and establishes the ubiquitous feeling that violence is never far away. The Arikara--referred to as "reeds" by the trappers--are persistent threat, looming in the forests, frequently ambushing Glass as he attempts to reach Fort Kiowa, not unlike the frequent attacks on the expedition down the Amazon River in Aguirre, The Wrath of God. Also in that film, the eponymous antagonist foments dissent and attempts to eliminate a wounded member of the party out of convenience, like Fitzgerald does. (Interestingly, Aguirre was played by frequent collaborator of Herzog's, Klaus Kinski, who also starred in Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, in which he coincidentally also played a man named Fitzgerald.) Fitzgerald represents the dark side of man's efforts to tame his surroundings, one which thrives on rapaciousness and greed, encroaching into the wild with an intrinsic desire to despoil the world. To emphasize the point, Fitzgerald recalls a story to Jim Bridger about his father, who he claims "discovered God" in a small forest, and he turned out to be a squirrel that he devoured.
Although not strictly a biopic of the frontiersman who barely survived the multitudinous attempts on his life, The Revenant does tease at the life of Hugh Glass prior to his harrowing ordeal through periodic flashbacks to his once peaceful life with his Pawnee wife and children. Due to tragedy, his wife was taken from him, and he is survived with his son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), whom he saved from near death, speaking to him as he lay dying and resuscitating him when he was younger, something Hawk later attempts to do in return for his father after being attacked. Glass' associations with the natives is not as much of a stigma to the majority of the trappers, but Fitzgerald does attempt to provoke him and Hawk early on, due to his frustration at the loss of so many pelts to the Arikara, spurred by Glass' assertion that they should take a safer--if slower--path through the mountains to escape their pursuers. Ironically, this safer route proves to be one which leads Glass into his unfortunate encounter with a protective grizzly bear, in a terrifying and violent encounter. The scene is tense and leaves Glass barely alive, practically ripped to shreds. It is also a representation of the sudden savagery in nature, and how no matter what one believes themselves to be a master of, it is the humility of the experience which proves to teach much to Glass about what he must do to live. Glass is motivated to live, however, and endures the ordeal, leaving the audience to question how much he can take. His drive is apparent even in small moments, such as when he points his crudely-fashioned walking stick--a mere branch--at a trio of caribou crossing a river, and for a moment, it seems to resemble a rifle, his determination to emerge triumphant evident even in this. His dreams are like visions, some which may have happened, some which might be fantasy, but usually concerning his deceased wife, who recalls a story to him in his mind about a tree in a storm, which may look like it may topple in the wind at the top, but when one looks at the roots, one sees the stability. This is the lesson of The Revenant, that even when faced with the impossible, determination and necessity can hold sway, provided you are willing to accept the terms of survival.
Recommended for: Fans of a dramatic and intense recreation of a time in history when the America we know looked far different, and the wilds surrounding us were far deadlier. It is also a tale of how far one can go--even when repeatedly faced with one's destruction--in order to accomplish something important.