BLOOD LOST. LIFE FOUND. 

The movie business is full of strange rumors, exaggerations and lies. As a journalist it is sometimes difficult to navigate around them, especially when they seem highly likely to be true. However, one of the things said about The Revenant after the release of a trailer showing a bear attacking the lead character was not hard to dismiss as pure fiction. No, Leonardo DiCaprio was not subjected to a “bear rape”. And it’s kind of weird that a rumor like that would have to start in the first place, because it’s not like The Revenant needs it to boost interest. It is a spectacular cinematic experience by itself, an amazing achievement from a director who wowed critics and audiences only a year earlier with the Oscar-winning Birdman.

Attacked by the Arikara tribe
In 1823, a group of trappers are hunting in the wilderness of the Dakota Territory when they are attacked by the Arikara tribe. Out of an expedition of 40-50 men, less than a dozen escape under the command of Major Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). Among them is Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), a hunter with extensive knowledge of the area and Native Americans; his teenage son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), whose mother was Native American, is also part of the expedition. Another survivor, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), does not believe that Glass knows what he’s doing and becomes increasingly hostile as the expedition tries to make it to safety.

During a rest stop, Glass accidentally confronts a grizzly bear with cubs and is very badly mauled. The others stitch up his wounds to the best of their ability and start carrying him on a stretcher. As the weather gets worse, the expedition realize that they need to make difficult decisions…

Many liberties taken
The story of Hugh Glass has been told since the 1820s and it is a remarkable heroic feat – after being left for dead by two trappers, he crawled back to civilization, 200 miles, in spite of his life-threatening wounds, defying snow and every danger that nature poses. A book by Michael Punke chronicles this story, and the film was partly inspired by it, although many liberties have been taken, especially in the portrait of certain people who existed in real life as well.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ambition from the start was to get as close to Glass’s misery in the wilderness as possible, and everybody involved agreed to make that journey with him. For DiCaprio it meant subjecting himself to painful experiences as most of the film has him lying in snow or freezing water; as a vegetarian, eating raw, bleeding meat was possibly even worse. For cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, the realistic ambition meant shooting the film with only natural light in almost every scene. It is thanks to the actor’s dedication and convincing approach that we believe in Glass’s transformation into a “revenant”, a spectre coming back for revenge. Lubezki’s ever moving camera captures every nuance in the wintry landscape on an epic scale.

This is a majestic film, with a few unbelievable shots and a degree of tension that remains edge-of-your-seat throughout. Much has been made of that bear attack, but it is absolutely terrifying and ingeniously performed by everyone involved, from DiCaprio to effects animators. Also memorably harsh and grand is the music score (Ryuichi Sakamoto’s first for a Hollywood movie in many years) and Hardy, who brings depth to his villainous character.

Some critics have stated that they find the film too much of an endurance test, but I love this kind of relentless wilderness drama. The Revenant may not quite have the complexity of Into the Wild (2007) story-wise, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a revenge saga equally elevated to this level of artistic mastery.

The Revenant 2015-U.S. 156 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Steve Golin, David Kanter, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon, James W. Skotchdopole. Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Screenplay: Mark L. Smith, Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Book: Michael Punke. Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki. Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto. Editing: Stephen Mirrione. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Hugh Glass), Tom Hardy (John Fitzgerald), Domhnall Gleeson (Andrew Henry), Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Paul Anderson… Lukas Haas.

Trivia: Sean Penn and Christian Bale were allegedly considered for roles. The story was also told in Man in the Wilderness (1971).

Oscars: Best Director, Actor (DiCaprio), Cinematography. Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture (Drama), Director, Actor (DiCaprio). BAFTA: Best Film, Director, Actor (DiCaprio), Cinematography, Sound.

Last word: “Every single department was taken care of by a specialist of stunts, security, blah, blah. It was even too much security by my standards in Mexico! I was working with the rules of the union, and with super-professional people – every shot that was dangerous, we rehearsed for weeks or months. What I’m saying is, every step was super-challenging, it was stressful, the standards I set the film to were absolutely high. When that stress is not for you, I respect that. The ones who stayed, which is 99.9%, we hold a friendship and camaraderie. Were we laughing all day? No! We were working like hell to make it happen! It was like Shackleton, when he went to the pole, he said [to his companions], ‘You probably will not return.’ [I said:] ‘These are gonna be the conditions, this is how we’re gonna shoot it.’ No one was hiding the truth.” (Iñárritu, The Guardian)

IMDb