Recently a friend recommended to me that I watch a movie titled The Revenant; it is based on a true story of an American frontiersman named Hugh Glass who was left for dead by his fur-trapping party after he was mauled by a bear. The movie follows his journey through the American wilderness in the winter, surviving off the land with nothing more than a canteen and his knife, fighting off Native American tribes, wildlife, and frostbite. This story takes place in the early-mid 1800s, when most of the midwest and west were pure and free from human interaction. The cinematography in this movie alone had me in awe; the director filmed in Canada, the US, and Argentina, on the natural landscape in the mountains and forests. The movie consistently contrasts the gruesome, dirty toils of Glass’ journey through the American frontier to wide shots of the stunning and peaceful mountain ranges and forests, at one point, including a shot of Glass trekking a barren plain covered in snow with the enormous mountains towering in the background. I find that this scene is obviously meant to display just how miniscule humans and their impact was before the industrialization of the United States. Since watching this film, I sincerely have taken moments to reflect on how different life is today, and how easy life is today in terms of obtaining food, water, and safety. I absolutely love this movie and 100% recommend it to anyone who would like to take a trip back in time to when humans lived very literally off the land and were but a blip in the vast beauty of America’s natural world. To put it simply: The Revenant rocked my world. –Elyse