{"id":3230,"date":"2016-01-14T04:21:37","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T04:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=3230"},"modified":"2016-01-28T22:21:32","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T22:21:32","slug":"on-the-revenant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=3230","title":{"rendered":"On “THE Revenant”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

“Man [against] the Wilderness<\/a>…” \u00a0 That’s pretty much the theme\u00a0of\u00a0The Revenant<\/a>…<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here’s a review of\u00a0The Revenant<\/a>, <\/em>the\u00a02015 “frontier revenge<\/a> film.” \u00a0It’s set in 1823, in what later became the states of\u00a0Montana and South Dakota. \u00a0The film – with\u00a0Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a>\u00a0in the lead role – was “inspired by the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper<\/a> Hugh Glass<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\"RevenantIn a word, the film is intense<\/em><\/strong>. \u00a0But perhaps the best summary came from the first line of the\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/a>\u00a0review. \u00a0(Which you’ll have to look up, on account of “we” are trying to be a class act here<\/em>. \u00a0And a BTW: \u00a0“Brutal” is another good one-word description.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Suffice it to say the film features breath-taking winter photography of the American West, “before the coming of the White Man.” \u00a0(In the words of\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, “brutal realism and extravagant visual poetry.”<\/em>) \u00a0But that\u00a0Ode To Beauty<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is interspersed with graphic images of the savagery it took to actually survive<\/em>\u00a0in that wilderness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And in what could<\/em> be a related note: \u00a0“In European folklore, a revenant<\/a><\/em> is a corpse that has returned from the grave to terrorize the living.” (See\u00a0Revenant (disambiguation) – Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

That’s another<\/em> good way to sum up the movie.<\/p>\n

\"\"More to the point, the real-life\u00a0Hugh Glass<\/a>\u00a0was called\u00a0the<\/strong> revenant\u00a0<\/em>“from the 19th century French verb\u00a0revenant,<\/i>\u00a0meaning someone who returns from a long absence, or a person or thing reborn.” \u00a0<\/em>The nickname came after his epic 200-mile journey – in the dead of winter, down the Cheyenne River to Ft. Kiowa, shown at left – after<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>being mauied by a momma Grizzly.<\/p>\n

And speaking of a\u00a0Man in the Wilderness<\/a>, that was the 1971 film with a\u00a0variation on the theme<\/a>\u00a0of basically the same story.<\/p>\n

That film too was\u00a0“loosely based on the life of\u00a0Hugh Glass<\/a>.” \u00a0It featured\u00a0Richard Harris<\/a> as “Zachary Bass” –\u00a0not\u00a0“Hugh Glass” – and John Huston<\/a> as Captain Henry. \u00a0(See also\u00a0Man in the Wilderness – Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em>) \u00a0Captain Henry<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>– the “hunting party leader” – showed up in both films. But Huston’s portrayal – of Henry as demented nemesis<\/em> – was more like his role as Noah Cross in\u00a0Chinatown<\/a>. \u00a0In Revenant<\/em>, the Captain is good-hearted but much too willing to trust…<\/p>\n

Which is another way of saying\u00a0the bad guys in Revenant<\/em>\u00a0are “Thomas Fitzgerald”\u00a0and a youthful\u00a0Jim Bridger<\/a>. \u00a0Bridger<\/a>\u00a0went on to become one of\u00a0the “foremost mountain men<\/a>, trappers<\/a>, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States.” \u00a0But in the 1823 expedition he was an “unwitting\u00a0dupe<\/a>” to Fitzgerald’s scheming and treachery.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tom Hardy<\/a>\u00a0was admirable as Fitzgerald. (Shown at right.<\/em>) \u00a0He’s the type of loudmouth, self-seeking blowhard<\/a>\u00a0who seems to plague every all-male gathering. (Or “hunting party” for that matter<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Another note: \u00a0In various reviews there seemed to be some confusion\u00a0between Thomas Fitzgerald and\u00a0Thomas Fitzpatrick<\/a>. \u00a0(The latter was known\u00a0as (the) “Broken Hand<\/a>,” from a firearms accident that mangled his left hand.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

So anyway, throughout the movie Fitzgerald constantly complains,\u00a0badmouths<\/a>, and is a general – and genuine – “PITA<\/a>.” \u00a0For example, he’s the first to suggest killing Glass outright. \u00a0(After Glass was graphically mauled by a mother Grizzly Bear protecting her cubs.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

That’s because the company of hunter-trappers got ambushed by\u00a0Arikara<\/a>\u00a0warriors to start the film. \u00a0As a result, some 16 of the 24 men in the hunting party got killed and\/or scalped. \u00a0(Also shown graphically in the film<\/em>. \u00a0The survivors’ escape is shown below left.) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In turn,\u00a0Glass’s injuries threatened to slow down the whole group, trying to escape further death at the hands of the\u00a0Arikara<\/a>. \u00a0And by the way, the film-Fitzgerald wore that bandana-like thing on his head because he’d been partially scalped. \u00a0(In an earlier run-in with another band of Indians<\/em>. \u00a0And in an ode to\u00a0<\/em><\/span>karma<\/a>, the job gets finished at the end of the film, “and deservedly so.”<\/em>) \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0And speaking of gore<\/em>, the film goes to great lengths to illustrate what Glass actually had to put himself through in order to survive. \u00a0(From both the harsh winter conditions and<\/strong> his injuries<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

For example, in one scene, “Glass” slits open a just-dead Indian pony, pulls out the entrails and crawls inside – naked – to keep from freezing. \u00a0(After yet another near-escape from death<\/em>.) \u00a0In another sequence, Glass has to cauterize a still-open bleeding wound in his throat. \u00a0He\u00a0applied gunpowder to the wound, then lit-it-to-explosion with some burning brush. \u00a0Which brings up the fact that for much of the movie,\u00a0DiCaprio<\/a>‘s dialog consisted of grunts and screams. \u00a0(And deservedly so…<\/em>)<\/p>\n

And aside from having to deal with: \u00a01) the “Momma Grizzly,” \u00a02) the\u00a0Arikara<\/a>, \u00a03) big-mouth Tom Fitzgerald, and of course \u00a04) the brutal winter conditions, Glass has another<\/em><\/strong> set of “villains” to deal with: \u00a0A party of horny French<\/em> hunters and trappers. \u00a0But they’re not\u00a0just<\/em>\u00a0direct competitors of the American fur trappers. \u00a0They also instigated the\u00a0Arikara<\/a>\u00a0ambush in the first place. \u00a0(As a way of “stealing business away from [their] competition<\/a>.”<\/em>)<\/p>\n

And aside from all that, they kidnapped the daughter of the Arikara chief.<\/p>\n

Which brings up another gory scene. \u00a0Glass sneaks up behind one of the Frenchmen – raping the\u00a0Ree<\/a>\u00a0maiden from behind – and slits his throat. \u00a0(“And deservedly so<\/em>.”) \u00a0The girl ran one way through the snow, and Glass – on a stolen horse – galloped away in another direction. \u00a0But of course “we” knew she’d reappear in a later scene, and so she did. \u00a0(At the end of the movie, on variations<\/a><\/em>\u00a0of:<\/em> \u00a01) The enemy of my enemy is my friend<\/a><\/em>; \u00a02)\u00a0Karma<\/a><\/em>; and \u00a03)<\/em>\u00a0Poetic justice<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n

The long and short of it<\/a>\u00a0is that the story of Hugh Glass is a timeless classic, as shown by the 1922 newspaper feature shown below. \u00a0(Illustrated by\u00a0Charles M. Russell<\/a>.) \u00a0<\/em>But unfortunately it’s not for everyone. \u00a0On the other hand, it provides a much-needed message to all the whiners, complainers, back-stabbers,\u00a0badmouths<\/a>, and\u00a0blowhards<\/a>\u00a0who seem so prevalent today:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“<\/em><\/strong>Walk it off<\/a><\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0Nancy<\/a>!”<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A 1922 Milwaukee Journal<\/a> article on “Hugh Glass’ exploits,” illustrated by\u00a0Charles M. Russell<\/a><\/em>…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0The Revenant (2015) Movie Photos and Stills – Fandango<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0(As are the images of Tom Fitzgerald – Tom Hardy<\/a>\u00a0– and the hunter-trappers escaping across a creek, with DiCaprio in the middle, carrying a wounded man in a\u00a0Fireman’s carry<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The second-down (DeCaprio) image is courtesy of \u00a0‘The Revenant’ Movie Review | Rolling Stone<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0The caption: \u00a0“Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘The Revenant.’ (Kimberly French).”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “Coming of the White Men.” \u00a0See\u00a0Coming of the White Man – Wikipedia<\/a>, about a sculpture in\u00a0Portland, Oregon<\/a>, depicting “two Native American men, including Chief Multnomah<\/a>, looking towards the Columbia River<\/a> upon the arrival of Lewis and Clark<\/a>.” \u00a0See also,\u00a0Coming of the White Men[:]\u00a0\u00a0Geronimo His own story<\/a>, for a Native American point of view.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0“Brutal realism and extravagant visual poetry.” \u00a0Those were Todd McCarthy’s words, in his Hollywood Reporter review. \u00a0See\u00a0The Revenant Reviews | Movies.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0Jim Bridger. \u00a0As noted, Hugh Glass ultimately forgave Bridger for his part in the 1823 matter, largely because he was so young. \u00a0 In the winter of 1824-1825, Bridger went on to gain fame as the first European American<\/a> to see the Great Salt Lake<\/a>. \u00a0He was also “among the first white men to see the geysers and other natural wonders of the Yellowstone<\/a> region.” \u00a0And in\u00a01830, Bridger and some other trappers “established the Rocky Mountain Fur Company<\/a>, competing with the Hudson’s Bay Company<\/a> and John Jacob Astor<\/a>‘s American Fur Company<\/a> for the lucrative beaver<\/a> pelt trade.” \u00a0He remained active – serving as Army scout and guide – until 1865.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: The estimate of men killed in the initial film-ambush. \u00a0The sentence as originally written said “some two-thirds of the ‘white men’ were killed and\/or scalped.” \u00a0But I felt that “neutral” phrasing didn’t do justice to the actual situation. \u00a0(Of a great number of American men killed.) \u00a0So\u00a0<\/em>I searched the Internet for the actual number of men in the hunting party,\u00a0to no avail<\/a>. \u00a0As an alternative, I counted the number of men in the “survivors’ escape” photo, added two, and multiplied by three.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Re:\u00a0“Walk it off<\/a>,\u00a0Nancy<\/a>!” \u00a0A\u00a0variation on that theme<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is <\/em>\u201cGet off your\u00a0pity pot<\/a>,\u00a0Nancy<\/a>!\u201d \u00a0Walk it off<\/a><\/em>\u00a0generally means to deal with a “negative emotional event without complaint; to take it like a man.” According to the\u00a0Urban Dictionary<\/a><\/em>, “pity pot<\/a><\/em>” is a euphemism for generally “feeling really sorry for oneself.” \u00a0As to “Nancy<\/a><\/em>,” that term is used “as a disparaging<\/span> term<\/span> for<\/span> an effeminate<\/span> man.” \u00a0(In other words, a man who couldn’t have done what Hugh Glass did.) \u00a0See also\u00a0<\/span>“nancy boy<\/a><\/em>,” and “<\/em>negative Nancy<\/a><\/em>,” for similar disparaging terms\u00a0apropos<\/a><\/em>\u00a0to a review of<\/em>\u00a0The Revenant<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of the\u00a0Hugh Glass<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>link in the article,\u00a0The Revenant (2015 film) – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Charles M. Russell<\/a>\u00a0(1864-1926)\u00a0was a noted “artist of the Old American West<\/a>.” \u00a0Known as\u00a0“the cowboy artist,” \u00a0he created “more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States<\/a>.” \u00a0An example: \u00a0The 1908 oil-on-canvas painting at right, “Smoke of a .45<\/i>.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And incidentally, the director of The Revenant<\/span> –\u00a0Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\u00a0<\/a><\/em>\u00a0– won three Oscars in 2014, for directing, writing, and producing \u201cBirdman.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 See my review at\u00a0On \u201cBirdman,\u201d the movie<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

For another good review see\u00a0Hugh Glass, the Real Man of \u201cThe Revenant\u201d Movie<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0It identified Glass’s nemesis as “John Fitzgerald,” but also asked the rhetorical question, “Have we become a nation of\u00a0wusses<\/a><\/em>?” \u00a0I.e., some of the film crew walked off the set because of the difficult conditions:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, DiCaprio has told media outlets<\/a> the remote locations and frigid temperatures –\u00a0the movie was film only in natural light during winter –\u00a0was one of the most difficult films he has done. \u00a0Those same factors led some crewmembers to walk off the set. Which begs the questions: have we modern-day Americans lost our ability to rough it in the wild?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I took the liberty of translating “our ability to rough it in the wild” to the more-direct question:\u00a0“Have we become a nation of\u00a0wusses<\/a>?” \u00a0<\/em><\/em>For one answer see\u00a0Canoeing 12 miles offshore<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Man [against] the Wilderness…” \u00a0 That’s pretty much the theme\u00a0of\u00a0The Revenant…   Here’s a review of\u00a0The Revenant, the\u00a02015 “frontier revenge film.” \u00a0It’s set in 1823, in what later became the states of\u00a0Montana and South Dakota. \u00a0The film – with\u00a0Leonardo DiCaprio\u00a0in the lead role – was “inspired by the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3230"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3382,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3230\/revisions\/3382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}