Tracks

I had been very excited about this movie after seeing the trailer. The story is exhilarating and after watching movies like "Into the Wild" and "127 Hours," I was waiting to see what was in store. As I sat down in my seat to see this at the San Francisco Film Festival I decided to erase all anticipation of the movie and just sit. The lights dimmed down, the audience shuffled into comfortable positions, and then began the movie. Almost two hours passed, and the film's credits began. The audience sat in their seats, myself included. We were mesmerized by John Curran's adaptation, Mia Wasikowska's tremendous performance, and Mandy Walker's impeccably/beautifully captured imagery. What stood out to me the most, though, was the perspectives of isolation and companionship. Marion Nelson did a fantastic job at taking the elements of the autobiography that gave us those perspectives, and as we watched Mia struggle through the desert with her four camels, dog, and occasionally the photographer (played by a genuine Adam Driver), we all began to understand her points of views in life as well as ourselves. So much motif was done with the desert, which I have to applaud John Curran for doing. I will be seeing this film again when it is released, and I hope you will too!

The scenes I enjoyed the most in this movie were the star shots. Imagine you are sleeping in the outback, and the sky is ablaze with the southern constellations. No matter where you are, there is a star right straight above you; you are not alone.

Being alone is an important theme to Robyn Davidson. We are told by back story that her mother committed suicide at an early age. We are also told that her father wandered all around East Africa prospecting. She is forced to live with her aunt and her beloved dog is put down. The first lines in the movie tell us that movement and change are important to Robyn. Think of a gyroscope. As long as it is spinning, it can provide accurate navigational information. Stop spinning, and it goes out of control.

Travelling with camels also makes sense. Symbolically camels are independent, tough, resourceful and most of all they can go for long periods without the essentials of life. So for Robyn going for long periods with no human contact mimics the camels lack of certain essentials as well. Like her father, she has an instinct for the bush and finds herself at home in that environment. You get the feeling that she could find her way even without her dad's Brunton compass. Also she is able to bond with a whole variety of creatures from wild camels, aboriginals and bushmen. She respects the ways and habits of the people she meets.

This movie has wonderful shots of the outback and the incredible variety of people and places that present themselves. As many adventures do, it has a huge physical as well as psychological component. The acting is well done, there is not an excess of emotion or drama, but Mia and Adam do an excellent job of showing us that there is lots going on underneath it all, which fits exactly.

Tracks follows other films about individuals pushing limits and seeking purpose and adventure. It is tastefully and cleverly executed with talented performance by the lead Mia Wasikowska.

Two short points about this movie.

1) It is exceptional for its ability to draw you into the journey across the desert. Some of the hallucinations etc are tedious but necessary to fill gaps as there are not many characters. The cinematography does the desert and journey justice.

2) In a largely male dominated genre finally a female inspires as the lead character of a adventure story.

Robyn (Mia Wasikowska) arrives in Alice Springs, determined to make the 1,700 mile journey to Australia's west coast on foot across the desert, accompanied by camels and her dog. This film tells of her preparation and the outcome of her journey.

Despite the fact that it is often leisurely in the telling of Robyn's true story and that Robyn is, for much of the running time, the only person on screen, it is never less than engaging. We get some idea of what drove Robyn to undertake this project (although there is no glib, clear explanation of her motivations), and we meet some of the people she encountered (and one of the enjoyable elements in this film is the development of National Geographical photographer Rick (Adam Driver) - truly annoying when we first meet him, by the end he is much more in tune with what Robyn's objectives have been).

Mia Wasikowska is very good in this gently moving film, but the real stars of this beautifully photographed story are the Australian desert and the camels.

There is a small amount of dramatically justifiable bad language and some animal upset involved.

To be honest at first this movie didn't seem like it would be interesting to sit through for almost 2 hours. A girl walks across the desert with her camels, what's interesting about that? Well if you go into this movie thinking that, you'll come out pleasantly surprised.

At every turn there is something new and unexpected that happens. The challenges that Robyn faced on her journey were incredible. This film was based on a true story and was adapted from a book. Mia Wasikowska's acting was superb, it really took you on a journey. From start to finish this film was visually spectacular. The vast Australian outback was stunning and amazing to see on screen.

I would recommend this film to anyone is up for an inspirational story. 7/10.