Not just a "Revenge" film

Rating: 10/10 (7 May 2016)

Some explanations to why "The Revenant" didn't win the Best Motion Picture Oscar were that it is just a revenge film. I hardly disagree. While the story basis is a survival and redemption story, they way the story's told makes it much more. Also there are some other themes than revenge dealt with in this film, such as native Americans, and the exploitation of their lands.
We're constantly introduced to stunning visuals of nature, wonderful single-take scenes, alternated with some singular dream sequences.
I remember that, when they adverstised the film, they constantly paragonated this to Tarkovskij films. After seeing the film, I can say that the influence can be spotted well.
The gore level is quite high, gratuitous and realistic. I feel like it's more gory every time I see it. I don't really like explicit violence depicted in films, but that's just necessary in this particular movie because of the story.
Speaking of casting, I feel it was perfectly done, and no one seemed in the wrong place. I'm not sure we can call this Leo's best portrayal, but he definitely acted well, together with his antagonist, Tom Hardy. The music wasn't a stroke of genius, but fitted in the film well, and added emotional layers to it.
Lastly, The Revenant is a great film, and soon made it to my personal top 10. But this is a film for those movie-watchers that look at movies as a form of art, not just some mean of entertainment. It's quite slow, definitely not action packed, but also very intense.