The Revenant

The Revenant directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu is a masterpiece which balances the visuals as well as the story.The interrelation between the bear,Glass and a Red-Indian tribe has been brilliantly portrayed by it's storytelling.There are several visual metaphors and very strong themes on nature and god which sticks with you.Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has done more than a brilliant job because this movie is the most visually stunning film i have ever seen.If we think Avatar and Lord of the rings has beautiful visuals then this surpasses them and pushes the boundaries of film making.The great thing about the cinematography in this movie is it's not only beautiful but also it plays a major role in film for telling a story and nature itself is a character.Leo's performance was great and the emotional scenes between Hugh Glass and his son gave much more momentum to it.Director Alejandro González Iñárritu gave back to back masterpieces Birdman and The Revenant and the director once again deserves an Oscar.

The Revenant is a contest of brute strength between man and beast, white man and Injun, Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hardy. The film is based on the true story of Hugh Glass, a 19th-century fur trapper who was mauled by a bear and left for dead by his comrades. Angered at their apathy, Glass endured an excruciating 200-mile journey through unforgiving terrain to exact revenge. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu adds a dash of multiracial angst to the mix. The fur trappers are in a state of constant war with the Ree, an Injun tribe, who are in a state of constant war with the Pawakee - a neighbouring tribe. The French are there to pillage and rape. Hugh Glass has a child with a Pawakee mother, a strapping boy of fifteen named Hawk. As is the demand in such situations, Glass is admired as a trapper, but distrusted because of his friendship and sympathy for the apparent savages. The film carries many trademark Iñárritu moments. In the battle scene which erupts on the screen within the first five minutes, the camera plays a game of tag, choosing one subject first and upon their death, picking up their assailant. The director used this technique in Birdman too, smoothly transitioning between scenes by following the actors as they stepped in and out of the green room, lending a fluidity to the narrative which otherwise might have felt claustrophobic. In the Revenant, with its wide open spaces, it just made me dizzy. If I take away something from The Revenant, it is the sheer natural beauty of the film. Nature reigns supreme in this gore-fest, river waters washing away the last of the blood and smoke after a battle and the clouds raining down on both warring factions grieving for their dead - highlighting the futility of it all. Gloriously shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, the sweeping icy landscape of 19th century America is no more static, no more a mere background, with the unsteady slopes and torrential rivers playing a major role in defining characters and story. Di Caprio as Glass carries The Revenant on his able shoulders. Tom Hardy as the mercenary Fritzgerald was the perfect foil to Glass - he was in it for the money and would exert any means necessary to lay his hands on it. Fitzgerald's absolute lack of principles made Glass the bigger hero, his quest all the more worthy of cheer. But the film lacked synergy - there were multiple parallel plots which did not mesh because neither were explored to their potential. In the end, it boiled down to one man's lust for revenge for the murder of his boy. Call it the tragedy of expectation, but after the brilliant nuances of Birdman, this linearity was disappointing from Iñárritu.

Even when it drags, one cant deny the fact that its visually sumptuous storytelling !!

Unbelievable performances by actors, cinematographer, music artists and a one hell of a director together make up a Masterpiece called The Revenant. The basic idea behind a great film is the audience must be hypnotized by the environment created by the film maker and the film must be compared him at every stage, this is the platform where The Revenant never fails.

Leonardo's acting is just mindblowing. Jawdropping scenematography and excellent direction. But the movie was somewhat exhausting.

At one point towards the climax of director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's new film, DiCaprio declares in a somber tone: "He's afraid. He knows how far I came to find him." He might as well have been talking about that coveted golden Oscar statuette that has, rather ironically, eluded him for so long. This year though, the accolade is his to lose. As Hugh Glass, a nineteenth century fur trapper who sets out on a path of vengeance after being betrayed by one of his comrades, DiCaprio demonstrates astonishing levels of commitment to his craft. The kind of trauma and suffering that his character endures is simply remarkable: it's the kind of film where getting attacked by a bloodcurdling beast of a bear for a whole five minutes can only be a portent of more painful things to come. In the span of two and a half riveting hours, we see Glass removing a horse's entrails and sneaking himself inside its carcass, eating raw bison liver and even falling from the top of a cliff, and that's just the starting point. Let's just say that Bear Grylls would have approved. On the surface, The Revenant might appear to a banal, straightforward revenge saga, but dig deeper and you will realise that it's also a tale of hope, redemption and the indomitable power of the human spirit. Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki achieved stunning results with last year's Birdman; this time too, their partnership has yielded incredible dividends. The screenplay does tend to get slightly erratic in places, especially post intermission. Visually, however, this is a highly sumptuous meal, and one that begs to be devoured. Not many directors, after all, can make blood look beautiful.