The Revenant

 

This reminded me of the Thin Red Line. Another Period piece, set during war-where the human beings are often in the background to the wildlife and the scenery

I remember well seeing the cinematography abandoned Mission. The tumbledown ruin on a white snowscape and the bright colours of a painting of the last judgement 

It is a cold clear, crisp wonder we watch,

The story is set in the Dakota territory sometime between the war of 1812 and the USCW. In flash back we see shako wearing US soldiers burning out Pawnee villagers. An Indian chief wishing to avenge the abduction of his daughter attacks American trappers. One of the party, the chief guide is attacked by a bear. His son is killed and he is left for dead by a rival. 

This film is a story of two parents out for revenge, and revenge is a dish best served cold. There are moments of triumph, Glass escaping the raiders, Glass surviving the fall. It is a long defeat though 

There is a lot of dialogue in Pawnee here

The bear attack on Glass-is terrifyingly well done. I note that it is established that Glass had strayed to close to cubs resting in a nest. The sheer size and weight of the beast was conveyed well (Glass is the trapper played by Leo )

There is one scene which made raise an eyebrow- the scene where Leo rides his horse of a cliff, and survives by the horse and a fir tree breaking his fall

I enjoyed this film much less than the Wolf of Wall Street. I found it empty, like the winter in the Dakota there is so little here. Glass was married to a Pawnee and was made a widower by the army of his nation. His mixed race son- A pawnee with an American father is told to be silent, until he is murdered. 

A pity because I think the setting is interesting and with more exposition, and time we could have had a better film

I will not rewatch this