The Tracker [DVD] - Action Thriller Movie for Home Entertainment & Movie Nights

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.