The Tracker
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Damon Gameau, David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet, Grant Page, Noel Wilton Director: Rolf de Heer DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language) Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 95 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-09-27 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Art Mattan |
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Movie Reviews of The Tracker
Movie Review: The many tracks to justice
Summary: 5 Stars
When Philip Noyce directed "Rabbit-proof Fence" - a film about Aborigine children escaping white captivity - he hired David Gulpilil in the role of the "black tracker". With forty thousand years of experience in the Australian bush under their belts [sic?], the Aborigines are trackers without peer. The European invaders quickly learned to use them in tracing missing children, criminals and other tasks. In the "Special Features" of "Rabbit-proof Fence", Noyce comments on his sudden awareness that Gulpilil virtually redefined the role. With no lines - none are needed - David makes clear that an Aborigine would find the children. But he "misses" them in passing, glancing over his shoulder to where they were hiding in the scrub. He presumed the real tracker sent after them had done something similar. In this film, David Gulpilil is the lead role, and clearly defines it in his own way. Even writer-director de Heer is unlikely have the savvy to devise a script to achieve what Gulpilil accomplishes here.
The story is of three whites, two of whom are policemen, to chase down an Aborigine murder suspect. The leader, a fanatic racist, is no exaggeration as Australian history has shown. The young policeman is an eager innocent, but flexible. To him it's part of a new job. The third white is a "squatter", conscripted to fill out the group. As "The Tracker", Gulpilil must lead them over a sparse landscape with few clues to the suspect's passage. The trail is scanty, the man elusive, and the whites are totally dependent on Gulpilil's abilities. In one scene, as the group arrives at the edge of a stony plain, the young policeman objects that there's no trail to follow. The expanse of pebbles is extensive and no sign of human passage can be made out. Gulpilil wearily points out the clues to the young man, who retires abashed as The Tracker smiles slyly. The hunt continues.
White-Aborigine relations are a sorry record, as this film dramatically portrays. Gulpilil is scorned and badgered, even by the men who so sorely need his skills. The hunters encounter a group of Aborigines, and the head policeman banters and abuses them mercilessly. Although Gulpilil warns that the Aborigines not only cannot speak English, even he doesn't understand their "different language, Boss". Resentful and frustrated, the officer shoots each member of the group. Holding up his pistol, he declares it to be "the language of this country". The hunt continues.
Director de Heer takes full advantage of the vast beauty of the Australian bush with compelling scenes. His best talents, however, come to light with the many close-ups of the tracker and white pursuers. David's expression at the killing of his fellow Aborigines is enigmatic, and he remains stoic throughout the film - until the end. Even when the leader threatens Gulpilil with taking "your own ears back with me" if they don't catch the suspect. He shackles Gulpilil who must now carry a length of chains while finding the trail. As the group closes with the fugitive, the tension builds under de Heer's skilful touch. The hunt continues.
De Heer adds some interesting nuances to this film. There are scenes introduced or portrayed by Aborigine-style paintings. The opening is one such, as are the killings of the Aborigine group and others. Additionally, de Heer uses Archie Roach, one of Australia's "stolen generation" to provide the background music - not quite Aborigine and not quite European. The effect adds fresh levels of intensity to an already gripping story. And the fugitive? De Heer's inventive story concludes with a surprising twist, one that North Americans may find daunting to comprehend. All the more reason to see this film for its revelations. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]