The Revenant 2015

     The setting of this film is uncharted wilderness in 1823 and it is partially based on a novel by Michael Punke.  Hugh Glass is working with a hunting team gathering furs to sell.  A bear attacks him and two men are left behind with them.  They are supposed to wait until he dies and give him a Christian burial.  This doesn’t happen and John Fitzgerald kills Hugh’s son Hawk when he calls for help.  When John and Bridger arrive at the Fort, they are paid for doing the job they were assigned.  Bridger doesn’t take the money because he knows they didn’t do what they were told to do. 

     There are several dangerous elements working together in this film.  There is the intense beauty but harshness of the territory, hunting and killing by Indians, animals and other men.  There are many times the scenes seem unbelievable, especially the unexpected attack by the bear.  Surviving will require luck, a will to survive against all odds, knowledge of how to find something to eat, making a shelter from the elements and fighting back relentlessly but wisely.   4 ½* (I really liked this movie) 

156 min, Adventure directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson, Forrest Goodluck, Paul Anderson, Kristoffer Joner, Joshua Burge, Duane Howard, Melaw Nakehk’o, Fabrice Adde, Arthur RedCloud, Christopher Rosamond.

Note:  Imdb 8.1 out of 10, 82% critic 85% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 4276 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Ushuai, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina; Kananaskis Country, Calgary, Alberta, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur Mexico; White Mountains and San Francisco Peaks, Arizona; Libby, Montana.  The trailer for this film received over 7 million views in less than 3 hours of its release on July 17, 2015.  There is a mistake, Hugh Glass escapes Indians by floating down the river and it is at first clear of ice with no snow in the area and then full of broken ice with running snow when he climbs out.  There is another film with the same title released in 2012.