Film Review: The Revenant

By Leah Michaelsen

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s thrilling western drama, The Revenant, is inspired by the real-life experience of American frontiersman Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) when his fur trapping team leaves him dead following a brutal bear attack. The film depicts a savage story of endurance, revenge, and justice set against a stunning backdrop of frigid landscapes and inhospitable terrain.

Set in 1820’s American territory (present day Montana and South Dakota), the film features visually breathtaking scenes shot mostly in a remote area of the Canadian Rockies west of Calgary, Alberta, and filmed entirely with natural light. The expansive, untamed wilderness combined with veteran cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s vision for crisp, radiant imagery throughout the film makes for a stirring and beautiful portrait of the natural world, captured on screen.

At the same time, the gripping portrayal of one man’s battle for survival amidst a barren landscape reminds the viewer of the power and volatility of the natural world. While filming, the cast and crew battled frequent sub-zero temperatures, frozen terrain, and unpredictable weather patterns. Off screen, the glaring reality of our changing climate was made clear when, near the end of filming, the crew was required to travel to the southern-most tip of South America to find snow covered landscapes to finish shooting. Twice during the 10-months of filming, production was shut down due to seven or more feet of snow melting in a 24-hour period…highly inconvenient for a film that takes place entirely in a snow covered expanse.

After accepting his much anticipated award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2016 Academy Awards, DiCaprio took a moment to emphasize the imposing threat of climate change to our planet. “Climate change is real,” he said. “It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating."

Few modern films of this size and scale dare to capture our natural world with such striking aesthetics, and without the use of predominant digital enhancements. Not only does the film deliver cinematically, but The Revenant tells a compelling story of human determination and willpower while weaving together themes of survival, revenge, and the brutality of both humans and nature alike.

Leah Michaelsen is a staff member at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

Film Review: Zootopia

By Ariel Russ

Zootopia is an entertaining, family friendly film, that showcases the various animal members of an anthropomorphized society that is full of witty animal puns and creativity. Thrust into a world of diversity, the viewer can relate to many of the themes showcased in the film.

Judy Hopps is a charismatic, passionate, and idealistic rabbit who dreams of one day becoming a police officer. With hardwork and determination, Hopps earns a position in the Zootopia Police Department, which is traditionally composed of larger species. She befriends a sly fox named Nick Wilde, and helps crack the case of missing animals who are wreaking havoc on the town’s long-established peace and tranquility. Along the way, Hopps learns that benefitting society at large is more important and more difficult than she anticipated.

In the city of Zootopia, different neighborhoods and varied climatic zones like rainforests and tundra, cleverly weave together the urbanized and wild environments in elaborated detail. Moreover, Zootopia is teeming with stereotypes like energetically breeding rabbits and more accurate depictions of animal behavior like slow sloths.

While the film teaches the viewer about the predator-prey dynamics in the city of Zootopia, what it fails to address are certain environmental aspects. The film could have benefitted from creating a more realistic harmonized animal kingdom that was less urbanized. Zootopia could have been used to showcase the resourcefulness of animals with respect to scouring for food or creating shelter rather than showcasing animals operating flower shops and visiting ice cream stores, which would demonstrate the sacredness of the animal since this “wildness” is what creates the distinction between “human” and “animal.” In the end, Zootopia is a message about an urbanized environment and society where distinct species can peacefully coexist and even work together for the success of the city once diversity is acknowledged as being a strength of a society rather than a weakness.

Ariel Russ is a first year Master of Environmental Management candidate at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven, Connecticut.