Tracker

Keremea a Moari sailor finds himself being falsely accused of murder in New Zealand at the turn of the 20th Century so flees in to the countryside hotly pursued by a posse led by Arjen Van Diemen a veteran of the Boer war

Reading the above synopsis the premise is one that's very familiar , almost too familiar . In many ways it resembles that of a revisionary Western in the tradition of CHATO'S LAND where whites pursue the noble savage and as the story unravels white men are portrayed as being less noble and more savage than their prey . Certainly the audience are under no illusion who to root for but unfortunately the film suffers from a seen it all before feel . It's a common feeling on this page that TRACKER is a film that isn't as good as it could have been but it's impossible to do anything radically different with this type of story

One aspect that is very noticeable is the landscapes . It was common in 1970s Antipodian cinema to to have sweeping rural locations for settings . Later on Australian cinema seemed to locate to urban locations to tell a story where as New Zealand seemed happy to keep its output in a rural setting . Of course LORD OF THE RINGS needed a landscape of wide open spaces but you can see any director quickly falling in love with the country with its beautiful vistas of coastline , forests , mountains and rivers . Here director Ian Sharp seems hypnotised by the countryside , so much so that the hypnotic beauty of the natural countryside ends up becoming the star of TRACKED and overwhelms the narrative

Just over an hour and half long, nice story, good acting, nice twists in plot, triffic ending, AMAZING scenery. Go watch it!

I am not sure what the complaints are all about. The acting is brilliant, the story line holds together just fine. The scenery is fantastic. It is culturally and historically sensitive.

The back and forth in the story between the Tracker and the Maori escapee is reminiscent of another great movie, Hell in the Pacific, which starred Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin. Each of them would get the upper hand from time to time.

This movie had me on the edge of my seat and the twist at the end had me gasping. I cannot say enough about this movie. All I can say is watch it!

I saw this film for the second time last night and fell in love with it all over again. If you want to lose yourself in a beautifully directed film with the most spellbinding scenery and cinematography, then this movie is a must. Ray Winston keeps that special something that we all love and expect from his acting, the support is by the by, as the two main character make the movie and i would have been happy with just the two of them in the movie. The drawing together of the two main characters story is a stroke of genius, with some very comical moments that made me laugh out loud. You soon learn to love the characters and feel emotional for the pain and suffering they have both experienced and had to learn to overcome. Thanks for a real non-hyped, relaxing film that will stay fresh for years to come.

The cat and mouse/hunter-prey theme is pretty well rought but this film adds a convincing human element to a film that might otherwise get caught up in the landscape or action.

The early scenes and some of the supporting cast are a little lackluster, and reminded this viewer how difficult it is for New Zealand films to escape a sort of provincialism (for want of a better word) that can often be detected in kiwi films trying to be 'international'. Winstone, Morrison and Andy Anderson as the colonial tracker all stand out in this.

The film has plenty of action and fistycuffs and ballyhoo but the focus is firmly on the tension of the hunt and the connection that forms between Winston and Morrison's characters.

Without adding a spoiler I will say the ending, while not disappointing, might have been 'more'. You make your own mind up!