Part III
The Revenant is the film adaptation of Michael Punke’s 2002 novel of the same name. It won three Golden Globe Awards, five BAFTA Awards and at the 88th Academy awards, Alejandro G Inarritu, Leonardo DiCaprio, Emmanuel Lubezki won the awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Cinematography respectively. ‘The Revenant’ is a film which features the revenge of a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, on the death of his only son. DiCaprio play the lead character of Hugh Glass.
Events in the movie take place in 1820s, encompassing the tail end of the fur and pelt trade that took place in the United States and Canada for almost 250 years. Both Canada’s Indian Act of 1876 and the American General Allotment Act of 1887 developed as a long process of shifting from agreed treaties of previous centuries to the formal colonialism of the 19th century. Hugh Glass, who is a White American, married a native Pawnee woman, they have a half-Pawnee son, Hawk, unravels the story of the suppressed past of the native Red Indian tribes. Settler colonialism portrayed in the film shows the bad invested in the greedy, French and American Pelt trader.
The uncharted territory that was North America was harsh and unforgiving and required a particular form of robust masculinity to be successfully tamed. This was seized by the ruthless quelling of local populations. The depiction of the French trappers as one of greedy, rapists and hateful racism against the native population provides spectators with the very less told Western oppression over the colonies in Hollywood films.
Revenant is the most remarkable and appreciable movie from a group of ‘White and Western’ film makers to illustrate the white man’s savior complex. From the very opening scene of The Revenant, the infiltration led by the white men to the lives of the native people is portrayed on the screen. Set in an indeterminate year of the 1820s, the opening scene shows Hugh Glass speaking to his son, Hawk, in Pawnee Red Indian language, telling him that even though he is scared and wants his trouble to be over, he must fight as long as he can grab a breath. Glass’ only son, Hawk, is seen kneeling on the ground ,in the background , a white man setting fire in Glass’ home and walking away. The half of the boy’s face is burnt in the fire. The next scene is that of the Red Indian village destroyed, burnt into ash , corpses lying on the ground, focusing Hugh Glass with his son lying on his laps, Glass helplessly looking Hawk. Hence the politics of the film is very evident from the opening scene itself.
The sequence that follows is that, Glass and Hawk are walking through a river with other men from their hunting party as they stalk elk for their stay in the wild. The team of fur-trappers is camped by a river in rural Missouri, led by their captain, Andrew Henry. The hunting party is attacked by a tribe of local natives who are the ‘Arikara Indians’, also known as ‘Ree’. The Arikara themselves are looking for the chief’s daughter, Powaqa, kidnapped by unknown white men. The white men leave the place attacking back the Ree. The bank of the river Missouri is left with the Arikaras who are mourning on the death of their kin. It is a tragic sight that the chief of the Ree wanders hopefully in search of his daughter, Powaqa, saying to the rest, ‘My daughter, Powaqa, is not here, collect all the pelts we can carry, we’ll trade pelts with French for horses and we will keep searching for her”. The Arikaras attacked the settler for the inhuman deeds they did towards their clan. They snatched away women from Rees.
The white man’s saviour complex is rendered as one among Glass own crew members, a white man, Fitzgerald call the half Pawnee son, Hawk, the son of a savage from mother side. He is not pointing out the race of Glass since Wars is a white American. The attitude of the settlers towards the native is portrayed. The frustrated white man, Fitzgerald, would be considered as a substitute of the racist colonizer. He stresses on his statement that ‘savage is savage’. Fitzgerald mocks at Glass asking how he managed to live with those savage. Fitzgerald recalls an incident he got to know that Glass shot a lieutenant, who with his soldiers, assaulting the red India Village. Fitzgerald asks furiously “shot one of your own to save this little dog, right here”. The life of the Pawnee has no value in accordance to Fitzgerald. He enrages to Glass for killing ‘one of his own’ to save the little ‘dog’, his Pawnee son. Glass does not respond towards Fitzgerald’s provoking arguments. He quickly defends his son and tells him not to retaliate against Fitzgerald. He says “They don’t hear your voice, they just see the colour of your face, son”.
While hunting in the woods, Glass comes across a grizzly bear and cubs, and he is quickly attacked by the largest bear. The bear claws and bites Glass, throwing him around as Glass tries to defend himself. He manages to shoot the bear, but it does not kill her. She attacks again and Glass stabs it several times as they both tumble down a hill. Glass lands in a gully and the dead bear land on top of him. The men later find Glass and try to tend to his deep wounds. The scene that follows is the most remarkable scene which clearly portrays the materialistic and psychological annihilation the settlers had inflicted on the colonies.
The head of the Ree come to meet the French fur traders who are enjoying their leisure time drinking and smoking. The leader of the Arikaras asks for horse and rifles. He says that he had bought many pelts, so the French can exchange horses with pelts. The chief of the French fur traders, Toussaint, rejects the need of the Ree. The Ree requests them to take all the pelts they need in exchange of horses and rifles. The response from Toussaint is an outraging one. He says “I need a woman with big tits, who cook”. The head of the Ree keep on asking horses. Toussaint says if he asks about horses again, there is no deal”, he checks the pelts that Ree had bought and alleges that they are already branded and would only able to pay half price for them. When the Ree walks towards the horses to take them, not listening to the refusal, Toussaint says “They aren’t part of the deal, tell your man to step away; we had an agreement, go have to honor it”.
The chief of the Ree replies: “You stand there and talk to me about honor? You all have stolen everything from us, Everything! The land. The animals. Two white men snack into our village, and took my daughter, Powaqa. We leave you the pelts because honor demands it. I take your horses to find my daughter. You are free to try and stop me.”
This scene depicts the agony of the native red Indians of America towards the looting mentality of the Whites. The chief of Ree laments that everything has been stolen from them. Their land, their animals. He also speaks about his daughter, Powaqa, who was taken by two white men by infiltrating to the native’s village. Ree asks horses and rifles for searching and finding Powaqa. Toussaint responds indecently to him. He asks for woman for fulfilling his sexual desire and cooking. The Ree could easily take horses and rifles from the Whites without any talks; since Ree is the native and has men with him. But, since Ree values honor, they leave the pelts they bought for the French.
The men in the hunting party carry Glass on a makeshift stretcher, but he only slows them down. They attempt to carry him up a hill, only for him to slide and bring the other men down. Fitzgerald suggests they need to just kill Glass and put him out of his misery. Henry covers Glass’ eyes and almost shoots him in the head, but he cannot bring himself to do it. Henry offers payment of $75 to anyone who will stay behind with Glass. Hawk and Jim Bridger volunteer, though Fitzgerald points out that they and Glass would to die. Henry raises the payment offer to $100 so that even Fitzgerald decides to stay with them until Glass expires.
Glass is still in great pain and continues to have dreams of his wife and the day his home was burnt down. Glass’ have the vision of his past in his unconscious state of mind. He is seen embracing his wife. The destruction that the Whites caused to the native village is once again illustrated in its full terror. Glass’ son, Hawk, is seen running out of their house which is caught in fire. Glass is consoling his son telling that “I will be right here, I am right here”. The entire Pawnee tribe is obliterated by the colonizers. The whole village is set in fire. Many White Men are seen carrying guns with them, burning huts ruthlessly. Hawk witness the murder of his mother, he is seen standing at the door of their house. His mother falls on the ground getting shot by a settler in front of their hut. She tries to remain on her knees, but couldn’t hold off and falls down. The White man who shot the mother is seen walking towards Hawk, he run away frightened. Glass finds his wife dead in great shock. A sparrow comes out of her heart and flies away. Hawk is seen helplessly watching the dead body of his mother. Glass is seen with his son clasping his motherless child to his chest.
Glass lost his wife in the assail led by the White Men. They came in large numbers, carrying weapons and ammunitions. They wipe off an entire tribe. The furious White Men ruthlessly kill tribe people. For them, the tribe was merely a bunch of uncivilized, black humans. There was no value for the lives of natives. Women and children were taken away for different needs. Daughters of the tribe were brutally raped, murdered and left for jackals. One’s own right to exist in their own land was denied. Farms, fields and cultivated lands were demolished. Civilization that existed from ancient times was devalued.
I wouldn’t live in a colony like that, myself, for a thousand dollars an hour. I wouldn’t want it next door. I’m not too happy it’s within ten miles. Why? Because their soft-headedness irritates me. Because their beautiful thinking ignores both history and human nature. Because they’d spoil my thing with their thing. Because I don’t think any of them is wise enough to play God and create a human society (Stegner 372).
Glass is seen walking towards a huge heap of bison skull. He stares at the heap in great shock. It is the skulls of bison and other wild animals that the White men slaughtered and dragged to death. They ate the meat, peeled off the skin, and carried away the carcass for different needs. As a symbol of the White men’s hegemony, he gathered the skulls, made it a heap and at its top, put a flag of their mother country.
Fitzgerald gets a moment alone with Glass and tries to convince him to let him put him out of his misery so that no one else is slowed down or left waiting to die, including Hawk. As Glass is unable to talk, Fitzgerald suggests Glass should blink if he agrees, knowing that Glass would eventually have to blink, with or without intention to agree to Fitzgerald’s offer. Glass holds his eyes open for a long time before closing them, instead of blinking. Fitzgerald intentionally interprets this as blinking and starts to smother Glass. Hawk shows up, seeing Fitzgerald smothering his father. Hawk starts to call Bridger for help, leading to a struggle with Fitzgerald in which the man stabs Hawk in the abdomen, letting him bleed out as Glass watches helplessly. Fitzgerald gets rid of Hawk’s body and tells Bridger he doesn’t know where he went. Later that night, Fitzgerald urges Bridger to move on with him, claiming to have seen Ree Indians by the creek. Already having dug a grave for Glass, Fitzgerald forcefully drags him into the hole and partially buries him alive under a pile of dirt as Bridger reluctantly lets him do so.
Meanwhile, Henry and the rest of the hunting party have a difficult march as they head towards Fort Kiowa. As Fitzgerald and Bridger head to meet them, Bridger realizes Fitzgerald was lying about having seen the Ree by the creek. He turns his rifle on Fitzgerald, who takes it from Bridger and turns it on him. He pulls the trigger, but the unloaded rifle clicks on an empty chamber. They continue to move.
Glass awakens and weakly struggles to rise from out of the dirt. He starts crawling his way through the woods to find food and warmth. He finds Hawk’s body freezing up from the cold. Glass vows to stay by his son’s side. He finds a thick bear pelt to take with him to keep warm. As he continues to move through the woods, he feeds off of roots and old bone marrow. He attempts to build a fire for added warmth and uses some of his leftover gunpowder to seal the wound in his throat. Nearby, the Indians were getting closer, so Glass rides down the rapids to escape them.
Fitzgerald and Bridger continue to walk. They come across a burnt-down settlement with bodies sprawled across the ground. A pregnant native Red Indian woman is seen dead among the other people. The entire village has been destroyed. Fitzgerald asks Bridger, who might have done this. Bridger replies he doesn’t know about it. Then Fitzgerald says, “It could be Captain Leavenworth’s boys”. They are another group of fur trappers like Fitzgerald and his companions. They might have done this brutal act to the inhabitants. They not only took away their lives, but seized away their assets, belongings and women. Fitzgerald makes a statement of hatred that, “Look at them, they are always stinking of shit” pointing at the dead Indians. The pathetic sight of the corpse of the pregnant tribal woman invokes sense of empathy to spectators. One woman emerges from her burnt hut and sees the men. She is out of hope, has lost everything she possessed. She has a cold look in her face. Fitzgerald takes some leftovers of the tribe men from the ground and puts it in his pocket. Even at the place of a brutal massacre, he shows no mercy towards his fellow human beings. He snatches away the properties of the natives. He takes away the horses which belong to the clan and resume his journey to the White men’s camp with Bridger. Getting away on the horse, Fitzgerald tells Bridger, “Lord is on our side, kid”. It is an ironical situation as we find the woman, who narrowly escaped from death, is seen on the screen at Fitzgerald’s statement which is audible in the background.
Glass gets colder and hungrier. He walks into the river and eats a live fish. He walks up a hill and sees a Pawnee Indian feeding off the carcass of a bison. Glass approaches him cautiously and gestures for food. The Indian throws him an organ, which Glass eats ravenously. In the morning, the Indian observes the bear wounds on Glass’ body, which are starting to rot. Glass says his men left him for dead and killed his son. The Indian states that his own family was killed by a rival Sioux tribe. He is seeking out more Pawnee for his revenge.
By this time Fitzgerald and Bridger finally make it to reach the outpost. They are on their horses, seen moving towards the camp. Many native children and women, finding Fitzgerald and Bridger, rushes towards them. They are holding something in their hands, begging the White men to purchase it. They continue riding their horses ignoring these people. They never even consider their presence. The settlers had gained control over the area, the Red Indian’s native place. They had set up their camp and established their dominance over the inhabitants and nature. The Whites tamed the innocent tribal people, kept them as slaves, humiliated their lives, exploited the natural resources and made huge profit out of it. Fitzgerald tells Henry that they couldn’t save Glass or Hawk, and he collects his payment. Bridger remains quiet but is upset and refuses a bonus pay.
Glass and the Indian move forward. They spend the evening sitting and catching snow in their mouths, the first time Glass has looked peaceful in a while. The Indian gathers materials for a quick sweat lodge and places a feverish Glass inside. Glass starts hearing his wife’s voice, and then sees himself walking towards Hawk before they embrace in an old church. The Pawnee performs a healing ritual for Glass’ wounds. When Glass wakes up, the Pawnee is gone. Glass walks in search of the Pawnee. He witnesses the tragic sight of the dead Red Indian. The Pawnee is seen hanged to death by the French fur trappers. The hanged some wooden log in his chest with the tag, “We are all wild”, written in French. Glass is in great shock to see the murder of his dear friend.
Glass comes to hear the talking, loud laughs and noise of the French men nearby. The next scene portrays the poor father, the Arikara head, resting with his group members after the tiresome journey in search of his daughter. A messenger suddenly arrives and tells him about the traces of a camp. He asks others to move quickly and tells Powaqa could be with them. Glass cannot tolerate the celebrations and laughs of the murderers. They are seen drinking liquor, singing songs and enjoying the leisure time. A girl is seen lying on the ground. It is Powaqa, the daughter of Arikara tribe, kidnapped by the White men. It was to this group of invaders the Arikaras came to trade pelts in exchange of horses and guns to search for Powaqa. But they hid the news of Powaqa’s kidnap to the tribe men. They played treacherous tricks on the Red Indians to trade pelts. The head of the French group, Toussaint, asks one of his subordinates to bring the girl. He beastly laughs and says “Those five horses weren’t for free.” Hence the White men had kidnapped the woman and they themselves trade with Arikaras pelts in exchange for horses to search for the woman who they kept in secret. Toussaint drags Powaqa, she resists, and in brutal force starts to rape her. Glass holds the rapist at gunpoint and frees Powaqa, he hands over a knife to Powaqa .She holds Toussaint at the Knife tip and kills him taking her revenge. Glass then takes a horse, letting the other horses loose. He rides to a spot in the woods where he builds himself a fire. Powaqa too escapes on a horse from the place. In the morning, the tribe searching for Powaqa starts to attack. Glass holds them off with his rifle before he mounts his horse and rides away. The tribe follows him on their horses up to a cliff where Glass and his horse fall over the edge. The horse dies, and Glass is injured again. As the night falls and the cold intensifies, he cuts the horse open, removes its organs, and bunks inside its carcass for warmth. When he wakes up, he gets out of the carcass and moves to a snow cave. In there, he carves “Fitzgerald killed my son.”
Meanwhile, at Fort Kiowa, a party takes place. White men drink and dance, they embrace the Pawnee women with lust. Many Red Indian girls and women are kept in force by the settlers. It is very evident from those poor creatures’ body language, how humiliating are these White men towards them. Fitzgerald talks to Captain Andrew Henry about the payment left for the pelts that are safe in the woods and need to be carried to the camp. The captain replies, “I’m waiting for Captain Leaven worth to arrive with his army, to get back out there and shoot some civilization into those Arikara, get back our pelts”.
Sometime later at the outpost, one of the French hunters arrives with Glass’ canteen, which Bridger left on the dirt pile after Fitzgerald buried him. Thinking he took it from Hawk, Henry leads a search party through the woods. There, they find Glass, limping towards them. They bring him back to the outpost. Henry finds that Fitzgerald is gone. The French hunter tells him that he heard Fitzgerald was headed to Texas. Fitzgerald looted the entire party’s payroll. Henry then confronts Bridger with his rifle and beats the young man to the ground and puts him in the stockade. Glass vouches for Bridger’s innocence to Henry, stating that he was only following orders. He also tells Henry how he saw Fitzgerald kill his son. Hearing that Fitzgerald is heading for Texas, Glass requests that he will seek the man out himself. Henry reluctantly agrees to have Glass join him in the hunt. The two encounter Fitzgerald and split up to get him from opposite sides. Henry finds Fitzgerald first and plans to bring him back to be tried for murder. The two men draw their guns on each other, with Fitzgerald killing Henry. Glass finds Henry’s body and puts him back on top of his horse using a branch as a prop. They ride on in view of Fitzgerald, who fires his rifle from a distance. He thinks he has killed Glass, but he just shot Henry’s body. Glass gets a shot off and wounds Fitzgerald who runs while Glass pursues. They corner each other in the woods, and Fitzgerald shoots at Glass. Fitzgerald runs down by the creek where Glass finds him and they begin to fight. Fitzgerald nearly stabs Glass, but Glass turns the knife on him. Fitzgerald impales Glass’ hand, but Glass overpowers him and nearly finishes him off until Fitzgerald states that killing him won’t bring his boy back. On the other side of the creek, Glass sees the Indians that have been pursuing him, now with Powaqa. He decides that revenge is in God’s hands, so he pushes Fitzgerald into the water and lets him float over to the Indians. The chief grabs Fitzgerald and kills him with his knife. They spare Glass since Powaqa tells them that Glass freed her.
Although he has gotten his revenge, Glass is alone once again, wandering through the cold land. He falls on his knees and sees a vision of his wife once again walking into the light. The final shot is of Glass’ eyes filling up with tears.
