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| Photo courtesy The Revenant |
The Revenant. Last night I went to the premiere of The Revenant, the latest film of Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, which opens today and you shouldn’t miss it. Here I tell you why:
- The word revenant means, literally, “returning from death.”
- As its name implies, The Revenant is a celebration of resilience, an epic drama with a powerful underlying message: while you breath, you fight for life, which no matter how adverse the circumstances are, it is worth living.
- The Revenant is nominated for four Golden Globes this year, including Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Director and Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio).
- To give life to his character, Leonardo DiCaprio had to sleep, for real, in the abdominal cavity of a dead horse. His acting work is brutal, heartbreaking, moving to the core. He should get an Oscar for this performance.
- The Revenant is based on a true story: the one of the experienced hunter, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who in 1823 was brutally attacked by a bear and was also betrayed by John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).
- Partly based on the novel by Michael Punke The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, in The Revenant, revenge is an instrument of justice and the viewer has no choice but to be by the avenger’s side, masterfully played by DiCaprio.
- The Revenant was filmed entirely on locations in Canada and Argentina. There are no Hollywood tricks or American nights or computer animations. Responsible for the cinematography is Mexican Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubesky, already winner of two Oscars for Gravity and Birdman, directed by also Mexicans Alfonso Cuarón and Iñárritu, respectively.
- The Revenant is realistic to the shocking: there are wounded by beast’s attacks, arrows, knives and bullets, blood flows in spurts and there are no antibiotics, no doctors or anything.
- Forgive me if this comment sounds sexist, but The Revenant is not a film for girls, unless they are surgeons, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police or soldiers. I spent half the movie with my eyes closed, but I still recommend it with my eyes wide opened.
- Alejandro G. Iñárritu won three Academy Awards in 2015 with his movie Birdman: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
