It would be easy to mistake the passion Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu had for "The Revenant" as an ego-driven mission to capture the raw drama about a man left for dead and who seeks vengeance upon his son’s killer. But the director is quite clearly aware that the production, which went months over schedule and over budget and tested the fortitude of everyone involved, is something he can never repeat.
"…now that I see the film, I got some post-traumatic syndromes, because I remember how difficult it was, and I’m emotionally attached to all the physical problems —emotional, financial— all the fights that we went through, all the time spent, all the sacrifices," Iñárritu candidly told The Frame. "There was no one day or scene or molecule of this film that literally didn’t cost a lot. It was such an ambitious project. It’s scary when you have that dream that is big and everything was set to fail. So, yes, I couldn’t be more proud, more surprised, more shocked that we finished, that I survived. But I will never do it again. Because I am a crazy man, but not stupid. It [was] once in a lifetime, but that’s it."
Luckily, the filmmaker had some game collaborators, from the lead actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy who followed him to the ends of the Earth, along with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who brought a breathtaking visual perspective. The making of the film is captured in a new featurette "The Brotherhood Of Trappers," which is replete with insights from the cast and director.
Lastly, Paul Schrader has weighed in with his thoughts on the movie, in one perfect Facebook post.