The Tracker is a beautiful yet disturbing film by Rolf De Heer about Ignorance, Racism, Biggotry and Tribal Justice in the Australian Outback in the 1920's. It follows a group of 3 white Australian men- young, middle aged and old- who are tracking a "black fella" who has been accused of killing a white woman. This man has escaped and wandered into the wilderness- back toward his home. The three men are being led by an aboriginal tracker played by the magnificent David Gulpilil, whom you may remember from films like De Heer's Ten Canoes, Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence, Weir's The Last Wave and Roeg's Walkabout...to name a few. De Heer intercuts the story of the men with aboriginal paintings depicting the events occurring. This provides for a much more dramatic experience, as it shows how such events had a drastic impact on the aboriginal people and their culture.
The middle aged man (also the ranking officer) is a sadistic racist fu ck who believes that, "the only good black fella, is a dead black fella", as he and the tracker awkwardly joke. It is clear from the beginning that the tracker is leading them astray because he knows the man's motive- as he feels it is necessary to use force to keep ALL black men in check (as well as his fellow officers). Tensions rise between the officers, the tracker and the ranking officer when he brutally murders a number of innocent aboriginals, hanging one from a tree as a "warning" for the rest. The saddest part is that he ironically believes that he is cleansing the land of people who have "morally declined" and "don't speak the truth" (whatever that means). From here things take a drastic turn and De Heer takes us on a journey from which we learn a lesson about Tribal Justice.
The beautiful locations, wonderful cinematography, mind grabbing plot and great acting make this film a joy to watch despite it's somewhat disturbing content and subject matter. This is a wonderful film that can't be missed.
The middle aged man (also the ranking officer) is a sadistic racist fu ck who believes that, "the only good black fella, is a dead black fella", as he and the tracker awkwardly joke. It is clear from the beginning that the tracker is leading them astray because he knows the man's motive- as he feels it is necessary to use force to keep ALL black men in check (as well as his fellow officers). Tensions rise between the officers, the tracker and the ranking officer when he brutally murders a number of innocent aboriginals, hanging one from a tree as a "warning" for the rest. The saddest part is that he ironically believes that he is cleansing the land of people who have "morally declined" and "don't speak the truth" (whatever that means). From here things take a drastic turn and De Heer takes us on a journey from which we learn a lesson about Tribal Justice.
The beautiful locations, wonderful cinematography, mind grabbing plot and great acting make this film a joy to watch despite it's somewhat disturbing content and subject matter. This is a wonderful film that can't be missed.