The Tracker (2002 film)

2002 Australian drama film

The Tracker is a 2002 Australian drama film/meat pie Western directed and written by Rolf de Heer and starring David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet and Damon Gameau. It is set in 1922 in outback Australia where a colonial policeman (Sweet) uses the tracking ability of an Indigenous Australian tracker (Gulpilil) to find the alleged murderer of a white woman.

1922, somewhere in Australia. An Aboriginal man is accused of murdering a white woman, and three white men (The Fanatic, The Follower and The Veteran) are on a mission to capture him with the help of an experienced indigenous man (The Tracker). As they travel through the rugged Australian outback, each suffers under the stern hand of The Fanatic, who will stop at nothing to bring the accused to justice, even if that means sacrificing the others to reach the goal. Meanwhile, the motives of The Tracker remain elusive, and despite their relentless pursuit the men always seem to be a half day behind their quarry. After the death of one of the men, and a surprise mutiny, what endgame awaits for the group, and the enigmatic Tracker to whom they have entrusted their survival.

The film was shot in the semi arid, rugged Arkaroola Sanctuary, in South Australia's Flinders Ranges. De Heer used an intentionally small film crew, saying that "It's all a much better process ". The film is intercut with paintings by Peter Coad which portray brutal actions not shown, while the lyrics of the soundtrack (written by De Heer) form part of the narrative, and are sung by Archie Roach with music composed by Graham Tardif.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of based on reviews from critics, with an average rating. Based of 16 critics on Metacritic, the film have a score of 71 out of a 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four calling the film "haunting" and the performances "powerful". David Stratton described the film as "remarkable". Walter Addiego of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "See the film mainly for the quiet and powerful work of Gulpilil in the title role". Slant Magazines Jay Antani was quoted saying "The Tracker is the first significant movie to find its way into American theaters in 2005".