Alejandro González Iñárritu, known for the magnificent 2015 “Birdman,” continued his masterful use of cinema in his latest movie, “The Revenant.”

An all-star cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy brought the story of Hugh Glass to the screen. Glass suffered from a horrible bear attack and crawled his way back to civilization against all odds to seek revenge against the man who killed his son.

DiCaprio has often been considered worthy of the Best Actor Academy Award, and it seems like this may be the movie to get him there. His acting was nothing less than stellar. Tom Hardy also provided a moving performance – creating the perfect rival to a worthy protagonist.

What Iñárritu did so beautifully with “The Revenant” was portray the neutrality of nature. It’s all too easy to paint the bear as a villain in the story, but it’s clear that it had no vendetta against Glass. Nature simply does not care, and that was perhaps the most terrifying aspect of the world in the film.

The landscapes and cinematography of the movie were some of its best aspects. It’s easily one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. There were multiple times in the viewing of the film where I had absolutely no idea how they could possibly accomplish what they did. Considering it was all shot without the use of artificial lights and depended solely on the light provided by the sun, it’s a cinematic masterpiece.

The loneliness and vastness of nature is also enhanced by the magnificent scoring by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Sakamoto really understands the power of silence in a score and utilized the spaces between the notes just as much as the notes themselves.

It’s not a sweeping orchestra work, but something much more subtle, yet emotionally riveting.

“The Revenant” is a great film to kick off 2016. It’s a triumphant work of art and a rare treat in a market of sequels and superhero movies; a breath of fresh air and well worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.