Redemption

Many might consider this film simply an adventure story and an odd one at that. Indeed it could be viewed that way, but it is also much more than a tale of survival based loosely on the life of Hugh Glass.
In short its timeless message is this: the world around us is filled with ugliness, injustice, suffering, betrayal, greed, prejudice, blind ambition, the cruelty of men and the indifference of nature but also with tenderness, love, sacrifice, beauty, and all manner of things which inspire wonder, joy and awe and in an effort to steel one's self against the former we must take care lest we risk losing sight of the latter.May we all be fortunate enough to discover what is essential while there is still breath in us!
I do wish a DVD was available. Is someone listening?

Catholic or Christian Movie?? Yes this is

This movie was made back in the days when stupid non realistic John Wayne type westerns were made. Instead this movie was a cutting edge realistic movie of its time that has gone unrecognized for its greatness. Bits and pieces of this movie could be used in a documentary about the real early pioneers of the west. The detail is amazing.

What I like about the movie most of all is that it has a Christian base. Catholics as well as Protestants will understand this movie from this angle.

From a Christian perspective the movie is about a man who was brought up in a mixed Christian world. His teachers were cruel and forced God on him without a sense of God's love. He lost his parents at an early age and was forced to live a hard life with men who probably did not know God's love.

He was reintroduced to God by his good wife who was so filled with Faith, Hope, and Love.

When he was left to die in the wilderness after being mauled by a bear, his hard upbringing wanted revenge. As he recovered from his near death injuries he reflected back on his religious upbringing and his good wife. He read the bible in his lonely nights and he began to realize more and more that he did not want revenge but only to just go back home. When he caught up with the men who left him to die, he forgave them without words and just went home. No shoot em up hollywood corn ball ending, but a great and realistic ending.

What a great movie.

The Waiting for Godot of Westerns

Man in the Wilderness is not a typical Western. It breaks away from the familar formula that characterizes many films in this genre, and I must emphatically state that it will not be to all tastes. Many who may enjoy the standard formula of Western movies will find it slow, and possibly even pointless. It is a film that does not explain itself, does not give a back-story or set up, but expects the viewer to discern the story as it moves along and catch mostly non verbal clues to decipher its meaning.
The power of this film is in its amazing visuals. There is very little dialogue, especially from the protagonist,(played brilliantly by Richard Harris). When natives speak, there are no sub titles. Plot is secondary to mood. The Wilderness itself, stunningly filmed with all of its flora and fauna, becomes one of the most important characters of the movie. At times, Man in the Wilderness feels like Theater of the Absurd, particularly when the camera lingers on the ridiculous boat that Captain Henry (wonderfully played like a landlocked Captain Ahab by John Huston) insists on hauling across unforgiving and waterless country. Man in the Wilderness is the Waiting for Godot of Western films.
As others have noted, this movie is based on factual events that happened in the life of 19th century mountain man Hugh Glass (played by Harris and called Zack Bass). Though the film takes some creative liberties, at times it is surprisingly dead-on with the historical details of this amazing tale. I would highly recommend reading John Myers Myers' The Saga of Hugh Glass to further understand and fully appreciate this odd film.
This film should be particularly interesting to those with a strong interest in the era of the mountain men. There are relatively few Westerns that deal with this initial period of Western exploration, and Man in the Wilderness does an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of this wild epic.
Though sometimes flawed (many of the edits are choppy), and though the experimental style doesn't work uniformly throughout the film, I still would recommend this movie to anyone bold or curious enough to take a chance on an odd duck.

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