survival in harsh environments

His films obsessively document human struggle against nature's extremes, from Aguirre pursuing El Dorado through the Amazon to Grizzly Man confronting the wilderness.

He explores survival through psychological and physical ordeals, most notably in The Revenant which depicts brutal endurance against frozen landscapes and human violence.

His films present survival as a grotesque game of adaptation and power dynamics in hostile or surreal environments, where characters must navigate bizarre social and physical constraints.