History Film / TheRevenant

''The Revenant'' is a 2015 [[TheWestern Revisionist Western]] drama film directed and co-written by Creator/AlejandroGonzalezInarritu and based in part on the 2002 HistoricalFiction novel of the same name by Michael Punke, itself inspired by the true story of UsefulNotes/HughGlass.

On the way, Glass is brutally attacked by a bear while on a hunting foray, and he is left behind with his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) and two members of the party to expire and be properly buried without slowing down the rest of the escape. John Fitzgerald (Creator/TomHardy), deciding that it is too dangerous to wait even for Glass to die, kills his son and convinces Jim Bridger (Creator/WillPoulter) that the Arikara are coming for them directly. He drags the still-living Glass into a grave -- for the "burial" -- and then leaves him for dead. Glass is able to survive [[{{Determinator}} through sheer force of will]] and makes his arduous way back to their fort on a quest for justice, revenge, and redemption.

* AnachronismStew: Fitzgerald claims his father was friends with some Texas Rangers, who weren't founded until 1835 (or 1823 according to some, the year the movie takes place in).

** The Arikara are motivated by white men kidnapping the chief's daughter and making her into a SexSlave. In real life, the Arikara had been deeply hostile to whites for decades before and continued to be after that[[note]]It all started when the tribe was ravaged by smallpox after being visited by the Lewis and Clark expedition, with whom they made friendly contact - this seemingly left the Arikara as inclined to do friendly business with white people again as the North Sentinelese[[/note]]. Notably, the Arikara would kill Glass ten years later, while in the film [[spoiler:they kill Fitzgerald and let Glass go]].

** Reportedly, director Creator/AndreiTarkovsky's visual poetry was a major influence for Iñárritu. ''The Revenant'' pays an homage to many of Tarkovsky's masterpieces, like ''Film/IvansChildhood'', ''Film/AndreiRublev'', ''Film/TheMirror'', ''Film/Stalker1979'' and ''Nostalghia (1983)'' (see [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpcdhNq_VPM this]] side-by-side montage).

On the way, Glass is brutally attacked by a bear while on a hunting foray, and he is left behind with his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) and two members of the party to expire and be properly buried without slowing down the rest of the escape. John Fitzgerald (Creator/TomHardy), deciding that it is too dangerous to wait even for Glass to die, kills his son and convinces Jim Bridger (Creator/WillPoulter) that the Arikara are coming for them directly. He drags the still-living Glass into a grave -- for the "burial" -- and then leaves him for dead. Glass is able to survive [[{{Determinator}} through sheer force of will]], and makes his arduous way back to their fort on a quest for justice, revenge, and redemption.

The film has become notable for its incredibly ambitious filming schedule, shooting on location in remote parts of the Canadian and South American wilderness and using only natural lighting for its cinematography. Music/RyuichiSakamoto and Alva Noto composed the soundtrack, with additional contributions by Bryce Dessner.

** The French trappers get what they deserve in the end. [[spoiler: The Arikara were looking for daughter of their chief all the time, fighting the Americans and working for the French. Turns out the woman was held captive by the French all the time. As a SexSlave. From the account of the sole survivor of their party the Arikara didn't take that offense lightly]]. Bonus points for Toussaint, who was busy [[spoiler: raping Powaqa]] when Hugh stopped him. [[spoiler: Pawaqa ended up cutting his testicles, ''just as she promised'', for raping her]].

* IronicName: For man with a last name like Glass, Hugh sustains a ''[[MadeOfIron lot]]'' of injuries and pain that would kill most.

* IShallTauntYou: How evil is Fitzgerald? [[spoiler: With his last, dying breath he mocks Hugh, telling him he should enjoy his revenge, because that's all he can have now and there is absolutely nothing that will bring his boy back]].

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: A rather dark example. Fitzgerald killing Hawk actually gave Glass motivation to live and extracting his revenge, rather than succumbing to his wounds from the attack.

** In the original version of Glass' tale, Fitzgerald's main source of villainy is abandoning Glass to save his own ass, and ultimately Glass has to spare his life because by the time Glass finally tracks him down, he had enlisted in the U.S. Army, and killing a U.S. soldier would have made Glass into an enemy of the United States. Here, Fitzgerald actively attempts to kill Glass, ends up killing Glass' son and later [[spoiler:Captain Henry]].

A 2015 [[TheWestern Revisionist Western]] written and directed by Creator/AlejandroGonzalezInarritu and based on the HistoricalFiction novel by Michael Punke. It is inspired by the true story of UsefulNotes/HughGlass.

In the early 1820s, a [[HunterTrapper fur-trapping expedition]] is attacked by Arikara(Ree) Native Americans when they are only days away from returning to their base of operations with a fortune in furs. Escaping with only a fraction of their original numbers, their frontiersman and guide Hugh Glass (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio) decides that their best chance of survival will be to abandon their boat and travel overland to reach safety. On the way, Glass is brutally attacked by a bear while on a hunting foray, and he is left behind with his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) and two members of the party to expire and be properly buried without slowing down the rest of the escape. John Fitzgerald (Creator/TomHardy), deciding that it is too dangerous to wait even for Glass to die, kills his son and convinces Jim Bridger (Creator/WillPoulter) that the Arikara are coming for them directly. He drags the still-living Glass into a grave--for the 'burial'--and then leaves him for dead. Glass is able to survive [[{{Determinator}} through sheer force of will]], and makes his arduous way back to their fort on a quest for justice, revenge, and redemption.

--> '''Bob Chipman''': Yes, the story of Leonardo [=DiCaprio=] as a frontiersman who crawls out of his own grave to hunt down the men who left him for dead after a brutal bear attack is sub-textually about the spiritual struggle of man vs nature set against [[SceneryPorn glorious naturalist cinematography]] and a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic haunting orchestral score]]. But ''specifically'', it's about scalping, shooting, tomahawking, head smashing, [[AnnoyingArrows arrow shooting]], [[GroinAttack dick chopping]], hatchet fighting, stick fighting, gun fighting, knife fighting, and ''bear fighting'' through harsh wilderness fueled by pure white hot '''[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge]]'''.

* MadeOfIron: '''Good lord'''. Mauled and half-eaten by a bear. Swept away in a waterfall. ''Fell off a goddamn cliff''. And all of this happening in the dead of the brutal North American winter. Nothing can stop Hugh Glass.

* CharacterWitness: [[spoiler:Glass helps Powaqa when she is raped by one of the French. In the final scene, when Glass encounters her again with the Arikara, they spare his life in recognition of his good deed]].

* TactfulTranslation: During the trade talk with the Arikara chieftain, the leader of the French group mentions he wants a woman with [[BuxomIsBetter big tits]] who can cook, but his translator kindly omits this part.

** Historically, French-Canadian fur traders and trappers - whether licensed ''voyageurs'' or unlicensed ''coureurs des bois'' - got along far better with North American natives than American or other European explorers, typically learning multiple native languages, adopting native customs and dress and even becoming full members of various tribes. A large part of this was because France's (and later British-contolled Quebec's) interest in North America was primarily trade, so good relations were paramount. The arrogant, murderous, raping, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking monolingual]] French trappers in the film could just be a (very) atypical group acting on their own, but it's still quite a stretch they'd stray so far from the standard French modus operandi that had been so profitable for centuries.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In the original version of Glass' tale, Fitzgerald's main source of villainy is abandoning Glass to save his own ass, and ultimately Glass has to spare his life because by the time Glass finally tracks him down, he had enlisted in the U.S. Army, and killing a U.S. soldier would have made Glass into an enemy of the United States. Here, Fitzgerald actively attempts to kill Glass, ends up killing Glass' son and later [[spoiler:Captain Henry]].

* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: The dynamics between Captain Henry and Fitzgerald follow this trope, but while Captain Henry is... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a captain]], Fitzgerald is just a rally mouthy grunt with minimal authority. And they both work for a fur trading company, not the army.

* EvilCounterpart: The French trappers, who somehow manage to be worse than the [[BlackAndGrayMorality amoral, greedy and racist Americans]]. After all, they are buying back furs stolen from the Americans and setting the natives against them, all of which [[spoiler: while secretly raping the kiddnaped daughter of the chief who is their temporary ally and casually hanging random Native Americans]].

--> '''Anderson''': They're touring the poor bastard.

* SexSlave: [[spoiler:Powaqa the Arikara chief's daughter]] is is kidnapped and being kept as a sex slave by the French trappers, the very men he had been doing business with.]]

** Reportedly, director Creator/AndreiTarkovsky's visual poetry was a major influence for Iñárritu. ''The Revenant'' pays an homage to many of Tarkovsky's masterpieces, like ''Film/IvansChildhood'', ''Film/AndreiRublev'', ''Film/TheMirror'', ''Film/{{Stalker}}'' and ''Nostalghia (1983)'' (see [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpcdhNq_VPM this]] side-by-side montage).

* AnAxeToGrind: Hugh makes good use of one [[spoiler:fighting Fitzgerald, first taking off some fingers then planting it firmly in his gut.]]

In the early 1820s, a [[HunterTrapper fur-trapping expedition]] is attacked by Arikara(Ree) Native Americans when they are only days away from returning to their base of operations with a fortune in furs. Escaping with only a fraction of their original numbers, their frontiersman and guide Hugh Glass (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio) decides that their best chance of survival will be to abandon their boat and travel overland to reach safety. On the way, Glass is brutally attacked by a bear while on a hunting foray, and he is left behind with his son Hawk (Forest Goodluck) and two members of the party to expire and be properly buried without slowing down the rest of the escape. John Fitzgerald (Creator/TomHardy), deciding that it is too dangerous to wait even for Glass to die, kills his son and convinces Jim Bridger (Creator/WillPoulter) that the Arikara are coming for them directly. He drags the still-living Glass into a grave--for the 'burial'--and then leaves him for dead. Glass is able to survive [[{{Determinator}} through sheer force of will]], and makes his arduous way back to their fort on a quest for justice, revenge, and redemption.

* AdultFear:
** Glass is helpless from his injuries as Fitzgerald kills his son Hawk.
** Also, [[spoiler:the Arikara chief's daughter is kidnapped and made into a SexSlave, by the very men he had been doing business with.]]

* SexSlave: [[spoiler:Powaqa]] is being kept as a sex slave by the French trappers.