1. AnastasiaGershman
Digital Press – Review - The Revenant(2015 – D. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
In the early19th
centurya frontiersmannamedHughGlassbecame knownasThe AngriestMan in
Americaandachievedameagercelebritystatusinthe pressof the time. Withhistrappingcompanyin
the wilderness,he survivedunbelievable traumaonlytobe leftfordeadby the mentrustedtocare for
him. Ratherthan die as expected,the horrificallyinjuredmanusedanastonishingarrayof wilderness
survival skillsandbegana thousandmile trekinsearchof the menwhohad betrayedhim. Newsof a
man so bentonrevenge thathe refusedtodie made itswayintothe papersbackeast,and thus an
Americanfable wasborn. Inthe end,Glasschasedthe mento the pointof exhaustionandonce he
foundthem,wastoo tiredtodo much more.
In The Revenant(2015) directorAlejandroG. Iñárritucreatesafictional representationof HughGlass
that honorsthe myth as itsfoundation while still takinglicensewithcreativityandnarrative. Storiesof
the filmshootdriftedthroughandaroundHollywoodall yearasthe budgetballoonedanddelaysset
back deliveryandrelease datesmore thanonce. While itmaynotbe the ApocalypseNow of its
generationitwouldn’tbe entirelyinaccurate tosaythatthe filmcame to representabitof a mythical
white whale –itslegendgrewbiggerovertime butnoone had actuallyseenit. Whenitfinallyhit
theatersearlythismonthinwide release,I didn’tknow whattoexpectbutI washopingfora lot.
The review:TheRevenantdeliversnatural vistasonascale that youprobablywon’tsee againfora long
time.Shoton digital using anAlex Arria65 and lensesbetween12and 21mm – it has a visual crispness
and scope withinframesthatcreatesa sense of beinginthe scene withthe actors,inthe forest,under
the snow,plungingovercliffs,facingdownabear. The immediacyof the environmentbecomesthe lead
actor, and youcan’t take your eyesoff of it. The beautyof the landmakesthe visual aspectof thisfilm
primaryina waythat is morethat it wouldbe inanother. Itdeservesto be seenasa filmthatchanges
howwe understandfilmitself. Asanexpressionof whatispossible, thismovie makesfull use of every
advantage thattechnologyandthe accumulatedexperience of Hollywoodoffers.
The Revenantisa seriousmovie. Itdoesn’t goforlaughsandit doesn’tpresentyouwithanyinside
jokes. HughGlassis a man wrongedandconflicted,livingbetweentwoworldsandtragicallydeprivedof
the one personwhoanchoredhimin the landof the living.The narrative drawsdeeplyfromelemental
symbolismandmythologiesthatinvoke asense of HughGlassas a manwho hasdiedmore than once,
and whoishonor boundto stayon the earthlyplane inpursuitof revenge. Attimesitfeelslargerthanit
needstobe,oftenbalancedoutbymoments of deafeningstillnessandquiet. The heartbreakof the
man’ssituationisapparentandplainlyarticulated. Yetmore oftenthannot it wasthe visual aspect that
compelledmyeye tofollow.
WhenI didfeel compelledtogive myattentiontothe charactersitwas alwaysattachedto the western
fascinationwiththe WildernessMan. Hugh Glass’sscramble forsurvival wouldputBearGrylls under
the ground. It stands as a testamenttoresearch andcommitmenttoauthenticitythatcertainscenes
unfoldthe waythat theydo. The fearof the white trappersattackedbyNative Americansonthe

2. frontierispalpable.Itofferswhatmightbe the mostauthenticinterpretationtodate of whatthistype
of fightwouldhave lookedandsoundedlike.LeonardoDiCapriogivessomuchof himself it’sawonder
there isanythingleftafteraperformance aswrenchingandvisiblyexhaustingasanythat have ever
beenputto film.
While still determinedtonotreveal toomuch,Ican saythat The Revenantdelivers. If you’re squeamish
it’snot foryou.If youabhor violence it’snotforyou.If youwant a sense of an Americalonggone but
whose beautyrefusestoquitourimaginationorourstorytellingtradition,checkitout.