The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for his brutal, nearly wordless performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's survival epic. Set in the 1820s American frontier, the film follows fur trapper Hugh Glass after a grizzly bear attack leaves him horribly wounded. When two men tasked with guarding him abandon him for dead, after murdering his son, Glass must crawl, freeze, and fight his way across the frozen wilderness to exact revenge. Shot by three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki using only natural light, the production was famously grueling, with a budget of $135 million and a punishing shoot in remote locations. It grossed over $532 million worldwide and earned 12 Academy Award nominations, winning three: Best Actor for DiCaprio, Best Director for Iñárritu, and Best Cinematography. The film is based on Michael Punke's novel, which itself was inspired by the true story of Hugh Glass. [edit]

1823, the American frontier. Fur trapper Hugh Glass scouts ahead of his expedition through a snow-dusted forest when he stumbles upon a grizzly bear and her cubs. The bear mauls him with savage force, tearing his back open, shredding his throat, and leaving him barely alive. Captain Andrew Henry, the expedition leader, refuses to abandon his most valuable scout and orders the men to carry Glass on a stretcher. But the Arikara tribe is hunting the trappers, and every day of slow travel risks everyone's lives.

John Fitzgerald, a volatile and racist fur trapper, grows increasingly vocal about leaving Glass behind. Henry eventually relents, appointing Fitzgerald, young Jim Bridger, and Glass's half-Pawnee son Hawk to stay with Glass until he dies and give him a proper burial. Once the main party leaves, Fitzgerald reveals his true nature. He tries to smother Glass, but Hawk intervenes. In a brutal struggle, Fitzgerald stabs Hawk to death in front of his helpless father. He then convinces Bridger that Glass has died, and the two abandon him in a shallow grave, taking his rifle and supplies.

But Glass crawls out of that grave. With festering wounds, a shattered spirit, and only one goal, he drags himself through the frozen wilderness. He must contend with starvation, infection, freezing temperatures, and hostile tribes. Along the way, a lone Pawnee man helps him recover, offering food and spiritual guidance. Glass also stumbles upon a French trading camp where he frees Powaqa, an Arikara woman being assaulted, setting off a chain of events that intertwines his quest with the Arikara's search for their missing woman. Haunted by visions of his dead wife and son, Glass pushes forward, driven by a need for revenge that may be the only thing keeping him alive.[edit]