The Tracker (2002)

Featuring a mesmerizing and fearless performance from David Gulpilil (Walkabout, Rabbit-Proof Fence), THE TRACKER is at once a mystery, an adventure, and a pointed commentary on the atrocities committed against the Aborigines. In 1922, an Aboriginal tracker leads two mounted policeman and a civilian through the Australian Outback on the hunt for a black fugitive who is charged with killing a white woman. The group struggles through extremely rugged terrain inhabited by hostile aborigines, wild animals, and poisonous reptiles. Though treated as a virtual slave by the white men leading the search, it becomes clear that the Tracker has his own agenda. Through massacre and murder the party falls into disarray, stirring up questions of what is black and what is white and who is leading whom.

brilliant portrail of the early settlement of australia

I have read many books on the settlement of australia and the history is well presented in this movie,I wish we had more of them. December 24, 2008

The Tracker

There are five men in this story, none of whom have names. In the cast list they are called: The Tracker, The Fanatic, The Follower, The Veteran and The Fugitive. This is a brutal story told in a very non-brutal way. The story is told to us through a folk song. We see the actors as they trek across the continent led by the Tracker (David Gulpilil) who follows the trail left by the fugitive although none of the whites can see it. The Tracker walks, the white men ride horses. We understand from the beginning that The Fanatic (Gary Sweet) has a fear and hatred of natives that becomes exacerbated as he rides. As they come upon a village of natives, he cannot control himself and here the film could become brutal but while we see his facial contortions, see him mouth the words we hear the folk song and when the actual brutality occurs a native-type painting of the scene appears on the screen so that sensitive folks like yours truly will not be offended by the event. It is like cave art depicting the historical scene.
As the story unfolds, each brutal scene is depicted thus and the song continues. One of the men, The Veteran (Grant Page), begins to realize that the hatred is uncalled for and feel sympathy for the natives. My favorite among a host of amazing scenes is the one long lingering shot of the face of the Fugitive (Noel Wilton) as he walks and then that of the Tracker and then each of the white men in turn. Nothing is said; you just linger with the camera on each of these men and read their thoughts in silence. Another great scene is the one where the Fanatic tells the Tracker how ignorant, helpless, shifty et cetera blacks are and why he feels it is his duty to whip them until they learn. All the while we know that the Tracker is in complete control of the situation and it is our fervent hope that all ends well for him.
We enjoyed David Gulpilil in "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and "Walkabout" and thought that he was even better in this film directed by Rolf de Heer and filmed in Australia in 2002. It is 95 minutes long and is available on DVD. If you cannot find it locally, it is available at Amazon.com. We give this one a full five stars.
October 2, 2008

Not many movies get my five star

I usually prefer to read, but as a tracker of animals and people, this movie spoke to me in a non-literal way. The music, the scenery and the main actor combined to make a piece of moving art, not just a movie. The ending made up for all the cruel things and the tracking was realistic and intense. I loved the way they showed how the tracker was seeing instead of just looking. I will just add that as Bob Brady, another reviewer, liked it that is high praise indeed as I know him to be an exceptional tracker. September 12, 2008

Stunning.

The Tracker (Rolf de Heer, 2002)

Ah, Rolf de Heer, how I adore your movies. You never fail to make my jaw drop, even when I see it coming from a mile away. And you can make anything funny, no matter how horrible, how brutal, the subject matter.

And this is no laughing matter: A tracker (David Gulpilil of Walkabout) has been hired to chase an aborigine charged with the killing of a white woman. With him are The Fanatic (Gary Sweet), the Veteran (Grant Page), and the Follower (Damon Gameau). We do not learn anyone's name in this film; their titles tell you most of what you need to know. The setting is the outback in 1922, when the aborigines were considered little better than the slaves were in America a few decades previous; a black man accused of killing a white woman was relatively sure to face a kangaroo court and swift justice at the end of a noose. Who wouldn't run? Yet, as we start out, we are fully convinced of the man's guilt; it is only gradually that an entirely different story unfolds. And as it does, complications ensue, to the point where the three white men are ready to turn on one another. And at the heart of it all, there is the tracker.

Pointed, darkly funny at times, brutal at others. As with all de Heer's films, the direction, cinematography, and acting are all exceptional. If you are not yet acquainted with the work of Rolf de Heer, this makes as good a starting point as any. I didn't like it quite as much as Bad Boy Bubby, but then that's like trying to decide whether you should go with the double-fudge ice cream or the triple chocolate cake. Either way, you're going to end up satisfied, and somewhat uncomfortably full. ****
August 19, 2008

3:10 to the Outback

Somebody needs to speak up in opposition to all the five star reviews this film is getting and I guess it will have to be me. This chase film makes about as little sense as the recent version of "3:10 to Yuma." The posse acts in ways that are downright absurd and that spoils the whole movie. For example, the first time a spear gets thrown at them they shoot back wildly but make no attempt to chase the culprit, who can't be very far away. OK, maybe this could happen. But when the next couple of spear attacks happen they just keep right on moving forward following the tracker. Hey, idiots! The fugitive is BEHIND YOU!!! Halfway through the film it becomes abundantly clear that the tracker is NOT trying to help them catch the fugitive but the posse keeps on following him. Good grief, the tracker even tries to drown the head lawman and they still act like he's their ticket to an imminent arrest. This is so ridiculous it almost makes the movie a comedy. Perhaps some other reviewers are blinded by the strident political correctness of this film: aborigines = good, white people = bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it already: darn those Europeans for rising above a stone age existence. Civilization apparently turns all whities into violent, psychopathic brutes. I'll grant this film does have some nice scenery but the story still has to make sense. August 3, 2008

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