Review of The Revenant (2015) by Pipec — 06 Feb 2016

" The Revenant " direct to the Academy Awards.

Why is there betrayal? Has always existed the revenge? What is survival? Does God exist? These are some of the millions of unknowns that the director Alejandro G. Iñárritu allows us to experience with his cinematic gem. "The Revenant" a visceral but artfully delicate piece that surpasses his previous project (Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and marks a new era in the survival movies.

Based on the 2002 novel by Michael Punke, chronicles the life of a man of the 19th century that after a couple of misfortunes must survive and seek revenge in a risky and hostile, territory, discovering that the more dangerous is not abroad, the more dangerous is where can reach.

It is a survival story, It's an ancient epic, It's a drama, It's a western, It's a teaching and explanation of the spirituality of a human being, It's all. Mark L. Smith and Iñárritu manage to create perfect DNA between a frozen forest and a frosted heart questioning the human potential to its maximum splendor.

Although a little invisible, the spiritual concept of God is often present in the development of the main characters (forgetting the Indians red skin) around the film, hidden in some scenes but in others this fully explicit (the analogy of Hardy between God and the squirrel). Literally this movie is "in the hands of the creator", any being that breath has reflected on their forehead the concept of a God, for Glass his son and his wife, for Fitzgerald a profitable future, for an Indian the loss of his daughter, In general are based on the physical, making stress upon the strong Glass wounds, creating a very temporary container to enter the presence of God. A measure that advances added more and more injuries in the metaphysics of the protagonist, but this only creates more strength in his head.

DiCaprio is the touch of any movie, it has been part of Quentin Tarantino in "Django Unchained", it has given it hand to Martin Scorsese in "The Wolf of Wall Street" but not even "Django" or "Wall Street" or "Titanic" Leonardo has made a physical, mental, psychological and spiritual performance so overwhelming and complicated as did with Alejandro. Walk dragged all the time, eat unimaginable things, murder, fight, pretend, and burn in locations devastated, have few hours of shooting, enduring cold, and experience work more complex (in all senses) of his career.

DiCaprio is a master, even when doing something as simple as a bath naked, rimmed his physical scars and emotional in below-zero temperatures. Will be this the Leonardo year? Hardy has not lost his talent, especially coming from the infernal desert "Mad Max: Fury Road" and the double performance of the gangsters in "Legend". He is alive, again. Hardy takes part to give a bit of testosterone and to demonstrate the customs of the (mostly male) Indians where kill, eat, shoot, hunt and rape was the only thing that could make a few heads, but that well was the 19th century.

Inarritu assassinated our minds, ears, eyes and hearts with a close-up images uncomfortable and bloody but both tense and exciting Open our auditory canals with a battle with arrows, shooting and adrenalin and close our eye focuses with blood, cold and fight. Number of elements are used in the film, forming the perfect union of the director and the crew a product with 12 nominations in the Academy Awards.

"Birdman" most striking point was the apparent recording in only one take, now, the point most visually striking was the Emmanuel Lubezki stunning decision in record fully with natural light for once again generating something new in the Hollywood world.

Auditory and visual accompaniments are perfectly incorporated, resonating strings and the ashes of a campfire is a clear example of the excellent work done by Ryuichi Sakamoto , Alva Noto, and others, having some results quite compelling. It is interesting that if we think, usually all the films nominated for a statuette from the Academy have such cohesion.

DiCaprio, Hardy, Inarritu and the team effort is analogically in the shedding of blood in the Glass front. Alejandro is breaking schemes, limits and stereotypes of Hollywood. It is all proud to see that a Latin American triumph in the most top of the podium. It makes me dream, the show me that it is possible.

"The Revenant" has shattered its competitors and Gonzales stands out more and more, but, Have already done so with "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"? "The Revenant" closes a year deepest with a flourish, being terribly shocking and perfect, visceral, tremendous, real, spiritual, human, natural, exceptional.