Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

ali-37 This was a DVD rental that took me completely by surprise. The story of three Australians using an aborigine tracker to hunt for a aborigine man wanted for raping and killing a woman unwinds slowly as they cross the wilderness. Untimately it's about racism and the head soldier is a racist who treats the tracker like he's not human. He kills innocent natives after questioning them about the fugitive's whereabouts. It's the tracker's performance, however,that steals the film. I recognized him from the movie Walkabout when he was just a boy. Now he's a man in his fifties, playing the fool in the film but grinning knowingly at the events that challenge the hunt. Fortunately, not all the white men are portrayed as evil. I found myself thinking about this film days later. Truly remarkable film-making.

spj-4 This is an excellent movie that has much empathy & convictions with the plight of indigenous peoples. It justly portrays the struggles of such victims of popular opinion & authority, without merit or broader justice, in remote locations. Skin colour different! Customs different! But how similar in truer circumstance of imprisonment to some kind of authority, however unjust. But mostly, unquestioned! To me, it brings to mind the less well-known abstract mystery of underlying "Dreamtime" world in "The Last Wave" & the more violent but more critically acclaimed "The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith". They were both fine Australian movies of the 1970s, in my opinion. Likewise, the American cinematic masterpieces "Eagle's Wings" & "A Man Named Horse" which I also was very much impressed by.The voices of victims virtually cry & echo out from the desolate landscapes mostly impressively presented in each of these classic movies! But the messages here in this movie "The Tracker", that I have now viewed twice, are especially moving, as yet another native in his land of inheritance is abused & abused & abused, under authorities far from just or caring, or familiar or comfortable to himself & his kindred spirits! But still, this is a sensitive & sympathetic film!When 'The Tracker' was shackled in a vast outback, it was an ironic portrayal we are viewing, & indicative of the prison inflicted on his peoples across time & place, after 40,000 years in Australia! Vastness was no comfort in this massive prison. The victims merely did not put up barbed wire or electified fences to promote themselves, as whitemen duly did so many times, in reality! When 'The Tracker' is whipped time & again by his "boss", he reminds me personally of Jesus, "King of Kings" & "The Greatest Story Ever Told"! And these people have their kingdoms DUE respect as surely as what was being presented in "King of Kings" or "Ben Hur" or countless other portrayals of outstanding individuals expressing JUST defiance from "Gandhi" to "Cry Freedom"!Our prayer should always be for such victims!!!

swillsqueal If you've ever wondered why Aboriginal people in Australia want an official apology from the head of government, see this film. They haven't gotten one yet. Maybe later--time moves slowly for the oppressed. Economically savvy, rich conservatives will not want to hear an official State apology rendered. Why? Because, they believe that the "sorry" campaign is a ploy to hit the Austalian Federal Government with a plethora of expensive lawsuits. Rank and file social conservatives, who make up about 10% of the population, just think that Aboriginals should be happy that they've gotten citizenship in "the Lucky Country" and keep their mouths shut.Each character in "The Tracker" is a metaphor for prevailing historically based and continuing attitudes between the indigenous people of Australia and European settlers. Not only that, but within the dialogues and actions in "The Tracker", one can see the still existing fundamental conflict between European legal traditions and those of peoples who settled Australia some 60,000 years ago. By the end of the film, one can discern the outlines of a lasting reconciliation in Australia based on mutual respect between human beings.If your'e not already familiar, "The Tracker" will show you what most of the Australian interior looks like. It's hot, red, dry and largely empty. Yet, if you slow down and focus your eyes, there is much more to the land than you might have thought. A good tracker could show you how large a human footprint on this natural setting of the Earth can be. A good tracker can also show you the wisdom inherent in patience and respect.David Gulpilil plays this tracker and he steals the movie. Rolf de Heer's writing and direction in this film is to be applauded. In fact, I have yet to see a bad film come out of Rolf de Heer's directing. His "Ten Canoes" should have won greater recognition in 2006. Gary Sweet as the racist fanatic was convincing. Overflowing with hypocritical Christian piety, Sweet made me feel sick to be identified as "white". You could almost hear him saying, "We had to kill the blacks in order to save them." Damon Gameau, as the follower, played his role with wooden innocence. Grant Page as the apolitical, amoral veteran was at his best after he took a spear. But, automatons are like that.

John Holden Many movies choose topics so that they can't be attacked or questioned: racism, the Holocaust, genocide, pederasty, the heroes of 911, Hitler, etc. This is about one of them: extreme racism in Australia. Nevertheless, the movie sucks.The characters are one-dimensional (this is probably intentional - the characters are named for their traits). There's no character development at all. Gulpilil is great, as always. The rest are flat.Far and away the worst thing is the soundtrack. Remember when John Wayne tells the woman that he's a loner, gets on his horse and rides away while she cries and looks pained? Just then some music comes up. Some weak ballady thing "He rides alone; his heart of stone; he knows the path; the wayward wind; ..." whatever. It's an RCH away a lounge song. Tracker has music at this level throughout. It's not just intrusive or weird. It's completely out of phase with the movie. And it's so bad it's painful.Tracker much like a high-school film project about racism: you know you're not going to get an A if you defend it; you know it's bad; so you have characters with names such as Mr White; Mr Black; Mr Bigot; ... And your parents are really proud of you.See the brilliant "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksnmith" (1978) and don't waste a minute on this one.