Garnering 12 Oscar nominations and winning three Golden Globes, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s“The Revenant” is one of this year’s many acclaimed films. Following Leonardo DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass after a near-fatal bear mauling on the American frontier, “The Revenant” documents Glass’s quest to live and avenge the violence of fur trapper Tom Hardy’s John Fitzgerald.

A story rife with death, the film features conflicts of every sort — Glass and the other frontiersmen face a merciless terrain and climate, the men and Native Americans live in fear of each other, and Glass must overcome the new limitations of his injured body.

The men traverse rivers, mountains and forests, but the vast landscape never detracts from the sense of intimacy developed from the start. When Native Americans attacked Glass’s campsite, the first of many struggles in the story, I felt close to the frenzy, like maybe I too needed to watch out for the flying arrows. This closeness makes Glass’s journey all the more engrossing, because we feel like we are with him rather than watching him from afar.

DiCaprio’s performance does not merely imply Glass’s pain but immerses us in it. He rarely speaks, but dialogue would do little justice for his character’s suffering. His movements, from difficulty breathing to an inability to walk, make him vulnerable. Still, Glass’s resolve persists, and he pursues Fitzgerald under all circumstances. DiCaprio’s Oscar nomination for Best Actor is nothing if not deserved. Having won the Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture, drama, an Oscar win seems likely.

Glass often reminisces about his Native American wife killed during a past attack, and as a result, we better understand the losses he has endured. He loves his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) and seeks to provide safety for him even though comfort is impossible.

Fitzgerald serves as the film’s antagonist, a danger to both Glass and Hawk. After Glass is mauled, his team carries him on a stretcher until they reach steep, rocky ground and must cross without him. Fitzgerald, Hawk and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) agree to stay with Glass while the others keep travelling and in exchange are promised money by their leader, Captain Andrew Henry, played by Domhnall Gleeson.

Ideally, for Fitzgerald, Glass would die so that he and Bridger could head back to their comrades. In one scene, he approaches Glass, lying awake but motionless from his injuries, and tells him he would be more than willing to kill him, claiming doing so would benefit his son, allowing them to move on without him toward safer territory. Glass, defenseless, cannot speak. Fitzgerald, in a move indicative of his hostility, tells Glass to blink if he wants to be killed, and he watches his face, waiting until Glass cannot resist. This is one example of Fitzgerald’s lack of humanity, a character trait Hardy embodies throughout the film.

Despite enduring violence in his past, including being scalped, Fitzgerald is a straightforward enemy undeserving of sympathy. Hardy’s Fitzgerald has no regrets, no guilt and no doubts. Meanwhile, Bridger, having reluctantly left Glass at Fitzgerald’s orders, cannot make peace with their action, his regret visible as he and Fitzgerald set out for the trading post.

In addition to Hardy and DiCaprio, the film’s other cast members make “The Revenant” the enthralling story that it is. Gleeson’s performance as the captain exudes the determination of a leader who wants safety for his men and, later, justice for Glass. Arthur RedCloud plays Hikuc, a loyal man Glass meets who provides companionship him and helps him survive. RedCloud’s performance gives the movie much-needed friendship and camaraderie.

“The Revenant,” however unforgiving, takes full advantage of its setting. Sure, blood is everywhere, like in the river when men get shot or seeping into snow, but frequent shots of the surrounding wilderness add an element of beauty that withstands gore. The mountains captivate, and the snowy landscape, though serene from the safety of our theater seats, adds yet another hardship to Glass’s growing list of things he must conquer.

The movie’s title sums it up in simple terms; a revenant is person who, after death or a prolonged absence, has returned. Glass’s fight against the wilderness and human nature makes this film tenacious, bloody and beautiful all at once.

_MOVE gives “The Revenant” four out of five stars_