Visceral Poem

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2016)

2-words to describe this film: VISCERAL POEM. What with the brutal exteriors the cast and crew had to endure the minimal dialogue that was spoken only when necessary and the nonstop tour de force we witness from the moment we see the bear attack and onwards the pace does not let up on the relentless conflicts. Such as man vs nature; man vs man; man vs God.
Although brilliant this is a grim film against some spectacular national parks in Montana; Alberta, Canada and even Argentina! So don't expect to be uplifted at the end of this film. It plays like an opera in its tragic scope and some of the brutal and heinous crimes we witness and I am not talking about the bear attack only.
Cinematography and camera close ups truly bring us very close to the action with wide angle lens that gets close to a character's face. But like I said it plays out like an opera whose usual scope is tragic as at the end of this film in its wake is littered with dead and/or mutilated bodies whether scalping and or castration. One person who should not see this film is Bill Cosby!
I am not giving it a 10 because it is a very angry film. It does have its moments of redemption like when a Native American cares for Dicaprio (Hugh Glass) and encloses him in a tepee to recover from his bear wounds only later for a French frontier group to brutally hang the native American.
It speaks very negatively about human nature albeit true but nevertheless it is a gut wrenching and draining film. After you see this film go out and have a stiff drink to cathartically clean yourself.