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The year is 1922 and The Tracker (David Gulpilil, Walkabout, Rabbit-Proof Fence) has the job of pursuing The Fugitive - an aborigine who is suspected of murdering a white woman - as he leads three mounted policemen: The Fanatic, The Follower and also The Veteran across the outback. The Tracker, a mysterious and enigmatic figure whose true character remains unknown, assists them in their quest. As they move deeper into the bush and further away from civilization, the toxic forces of paranoia and violence begin to escalate, stirring up questions of what is black and what is white and who is leading whom. Their journey becomes an acrimonious and murderous trek that shifts power from one man to another, challenged by the indigenous people they come across as well as each other. |Australia|2002|98 mins|Epic Drama|English|Rolf de Heer, dir.| Winner Best Film, Best Actor (David Gulpilil), Australian Film Critic Circle. BONUS DOC with DVD: GULPILIL: ONE RED BLOOD Australia, 2003, 56 mins, Documentary in English, Darlene Johnson, dir. Legendary Aboriginal actor and Australian icon David Gulpilil's life has been one of dueling lifestyles, with his jet-setting movie star life on a completely different plane from his life as an Aboriginal village elder, and director Darlene Johnson manages to capture intimate details from both lifestyles in her 2003 biographical documentary Gulpilil: One Red Blood. DVD available at this price for personal use only.
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.
