'The Revenant' and Leo DiCaprio's chance to reach Oscar

In the film that received 12 Oscar nominations this year, the actor born in 1974 had a haunting transformation into a man who lost everything, only wanting to survive to take revenge.

On Moviefone, director Alejandro G. Inarritu once said: “Making a normal movie is simple, making a quality movie is like a war, and making an excellent movie is a miracle.” If we follow Inarritu’s own criteria, his latest movie, The Revenant, falls into the second category – a war.

Audiences may or may not like The Revenant because its story is too simple and its dialogue is so sparse that it feels lacking in depth, but no one can deny the overall quality of this work with its excellent visuals and acting.

Movie poster "The Revenant".

Inarritu's ambitious project

The Revenant is inspired by a true story that took place in 1823. The story of Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) being attacked by a bear has been passed down through generations, put into poetry, and even made into a film called Man in the Wilderness (1971). In 2001, Hugh Glass's epic poem was adapted into a screenplay, originally intended for director Park Chan Wook. After more than a decade of being shelved, the script finally found its way to Inarritu. Heembarked on this ambitious project as soon asThe film that won four Oscars last year wasBirdman.

In order for The Revenant to be completed exactly as the Mexican perfectionist director wanted, the crew had to endure 9 months of “torture” in harsh weather conditions. Many even withdrew or were fired from the crew for not meeting Inarritu’s strict requirements. But among them, perhaps no one had to endure as much hardship as Leonardo DiCaprio - an actor often known for his glamorous and glamorous image.

Leo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a man whose mysterious past is not specifically mentioned. Despite being white, Glass spent time living with the Indians and even had a child. He agreed to be a navigator for a fur trading caravan led by Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). At a time when the relationship between the Indians and the white settlers was always in a life-and-death conflict, the fur trading caravan was attacked and suffered heavy casualties.

At the suggestion of the experienced Glass, the group abandons the boat and walks back to the Rocky Mountain Company's base. This is approved by most of the group, except for the hunter John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). He just wants to finish the job quickly, get his money and continue his new life in Texas. Therefore, temporarily storing the animal skins and struggling to walk back to the base by road is the worst option for him. But an incident changes everything, when Hugh Glass is suddenly attacked by a bear, almost dying.

Fitzgerald and a young man were assigned to stay and look after Glass and his son. At this point, Fitzgerald's evil intentions were revealed when he accidentally killed Glass's son and intentionally left Glass in a half-dead state in the bitter cold of the Louisiana winter. But miraculously, Glass survived and with his broken body, he was determined to return to find Fitzgerald to take revenge...

Leonardo DiCaprio had to swim across a freezing river in -30 degree weather and eat raw liver during filming. With his role as Hugh Glass, he has been nominated for his sixth Oscar and is the most promising candidate for the title of "Best Actor" this year.

Director Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki agreed to shoot only in natural light to bring maximum authenticity to the work.Inarritu brushed aside the advantages ofCGI technology and green screen toback to the most manual way of filmmaking.The crew only had a few hours a day to film and each scene was carefully prepared.

The filming was hampered by the weather. The snow was melting in Canada as The Revenant was about to enter its final stages, so Inarritu decided to take the film to southern Argentina, where the weather was cold and windy, similar to Canada. It was all in an effort to satisfy Inarritu’s ambition – to make a film that the audience could live in.

With the help of cinematographer Lubezki, Inarritu's somewhat "crazy" dream came true. Before The Revenant, Lubezki had amazed audiences with his skillful Long-Take shots, making Birdman seem like an endless story that viewers could hardly notice when the scene changed.

In this film, the use of wide lenses makes the northern border of the United States appear more poetic and deadly than ever. It is hard to forget the long continuous shot when Glass is attacked by a bear, with shaky camera angles and close-ups that give the character a sense of danger.

The Revenant is not an easy movie to watch because it is so fierce and realistic that sometimes viewers shudder at the thought of imagining themselves in that world.The audience was also overwhelmed by the majestic, vast scenery of the mountains, forests and rivers covered in ice, of the giant bison running wild in the wild... Through Lubzeki's lens and Hugh Glass's perspective, no matter how brave humans are, they are still too small when standing before the fierce beauty of nature. However, humans are not easily defeated.

Leonardo DiCaprio's Sacrifice

Hugh Glass is the most challenging role of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career to date. A polished star, he accepted a scraggly beard and hair, and most of his dialogue was delivered in a growl. A vegetarian in real life, he agreed to eat raw beef liver in the film after finding the jelly used to simulate liver “unconvincing.” He also had to live for nearly a year in minus-zero temperatures and immerse himself in a freezing river.

DiCaprio truly had a memorable role even though he had very few lines and mostly expressed his emotions through body language and eyes. Those eyes were filled with helplessness when watching his son being murdered and not being able to do anything, sadness when his mind was haunted by the past, and always burning regardless of the weather outside when thinking about the enemy. He went through many dangers just to find peace of mind. With such a sacrifice to the point of transformation, DiCaprio stands before a great opportunity to have in his hands the first Oscar statuette of his career.

Director Inarritu (right), actor Leonardo DiCaprio and the crew of "The Revenant" had to work under harsh weather conditions.

On the other side of the battle line, Tom Hardy also did a good job as Fitzgerald, although the origin and story of this character is much less than Glass. He is a ruthless pragmatist, willing to do anything to get what he wants and survive.

The fierce battle between two people - one has lost everything and only wants revenge through spiritual faith, the other is an atheist and only wants to protect his life - creates the attraction forThe Revenant.

The Revenant opens in Vietnam from February 5.

According to VNE