Tracks

Every now and then, a person -- more often than not, a youth -- gets fed up with the mundane existence of civilization and seeks to find their roots and awaken a spiritual cleansing in the wilderness. Unfortunately, there are many instances of such experiences ending tragically. The stories of Timothy Treadwell and Christopher McCandless are prime examples, emphasized by the films depicting their final days. But in the end, it isn't about how they died, but rather, how they lived. Even though her journey does not end in heartbreaking sorrow, it almost comes off as the endgame for Robyn Davidson, the young adventuress depicted in John Curran's latest film, Tracks. Played with no-nonsense, salt-of-the-earth wisdom by Mia Wasikowska, Robyn's ambition is to follow her father's footsteps and trek across 2,000 miles of Australian desert. Where Treadwell sought to connect with the animals he so loved and McCandless attempted to discover his own identity, Robyn sets off on her journey for no reason other than the hell of it. She first shows up in a middle-of-nowhere town called Alice Springs, seeking to procure some of Australia's feral camels for her journey. She spends the better part of a year learning to train the beasts, showcasing just how focused she is on her goal. Lighting out for the territories is a common feeling we've all shared at one moment or another, and Wasikowska -- who has always come off as a very sheltered soul -- epitomizes the sort of loner that would seek to go out on such an excursion. She insists on setting out alone for the majority of it, with no radio or a weapon. The only human contact she intends to have will be scattered checkpoint stops with an American photojournalist chronicling the expedition (Adam Driver), and even then, she has no real desire to even do that. "You wanna die out there or somethin'?" one character asks her, and she all but acknowledges this as her ultimate goal. Director John Curran emphasizes the feeling of forced loneliness in this film. Wasikowska's Robyn steadily severs ties with any and all people she comes across in her journey. Her desire to be truly alone is made abundantly clear, especially in regards to the barren isolation of the Australian outback. However, I think that Curran's film feels a bit too intimate and not nearly as sparse as the subject matter would require. There is a wonderful moment where Robyn stumbles onto a homestead, almost like an alien, not reacting to the farmer's words of welcome. In her wanderings, it's almost like Robyn had forgotten the basic rules of human interaction. Shame that this wasn't further explored. Indeed, Tracks does seem to meander with no real compass or, indeed, idea of why or where it's going. In this regard, it's like its protagonist. However, Robyn's journey ends in some small triumph. This film ends on a more worrisome "what was the point?" note.

A so-so movie. The true story of Robyn Davidson who trekked across the Australian desert, from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean, in 1977. A journey of about 3,000 kms, accompanied by four camels and a dog. Great scenery and cinematography. Some interesting moments and tales of survival. However, just feels dull and pointless. Maybe it is because the trek is voluntary - there is no overarching survival story (her plane didn't crash, she's not trying to escape from a gulag). Also you get the feeling that help is always nearby (due to the National Geographic photographer). So it really doesn't feel like a life-or- death thing. Maybe it is because survival movies have been done to death over the last few years. Solid performance by Mia Wasikowska in the lead role. However, I found Adam Driver extremely irritating as the photographer. Or maybe that is how he was meant to be. I found it hard to believe that she would have any romantic feelings for a prat like him.

This movie makes up for every bad movie I have had to sit through this month. Absolutely perfect, in story acting, and sound. Robyn's journey is so amazing, and she is just so committed, Mia Wasikowska looks like a tiny child when she begins preparing for this 18,000 mile walk with no one but her dog Diggity, and her 3, and a half camels, but by time she has reached her end she has fully transformed into a strong Woman. The opening pulls you in right away as you follow Robyn as she apprentices as a wild camel herder and learns quite a bit (at first the hard way) which she takes with her. The Aboriginal actors all seemed to want to be part of the telling of this story, and that only added to it's authenticity. Mr. Eddie is brought to life so nicely and comes across as such a good person, as do most every person that Robyn comes across out there. The musical score is so very good, you have such a deep sense of foreboding, such loneliness in the darkest places, and so alive in the brightest spaces. I really Enjoyed this movie quite a bit, and would recommend this movie to anyone. Remember to hydrate, and get ready to be taken on a great journey. Jesse of Jesse.ca

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.

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.

You may be familiar with director John Curran if you have seen his work "The Painted Veil". Screenwriter Marion Nelson has not worked on any well-known projects so far, but that does not have to mean something as many new writers often launch their career with a truly great effort. Unfortunately I would not call "Tracks" the above. Maybe it is just me, but just the way I do not like mountain climber movie, I am also not particularly fond of desert-themed movies. Robyn Davidson's approach here falls for me under the "higher-faster-further"-concept that I do not approve of. I find her approach hypocritical. She says that she does not do it to prove anything to herself, but to prove that anybody can reach anything if they really want to. And then she even writes about it, which puts a huge question mark behind her motivations for this trek. Later she even wrote a book, which for me destroys almost all the non-materialistic reasons she gave for going off to the desert. However, in starting the journey, she enters an area of the planet where men simply don't belong. As a consequence, kangaroos and camels die just like her dog (though the scene is not as tragic as the one in a certain Will Smith movie). Life is precious. Why would she do these things, only to prove anything to herself or other people? It is embarrassing to watch how she acts like she became one with the nature and the Aborigines. She finds it funny when one of them acts like a wild animal towards tourists, because she knows it is just an act and they are not really this way and the tourists don't. Well the tourists are not the ones who shoot camels, then, on a later occasion, chase them away and only not kill them because they did not move any closer. You can't blame Wasikowska though for Davidson's disgusting choices. Well.. to some extent you probably can as she accepted playing the character. Her performance is solid, though nothing out of the ordinary. Rainer Bock played his part well. Adam Driver, however, has a cheesy love interest role that did not need to be included, even if his character really existed. He does nothing for the movie and his character is completely forgettable. Hopefully things will look different when he shows up as the main villain in the upcoming Star Wars film. "Tracks" already had a hard time with me before it started due to Davidson's actions. Neither the direction, nor the acting or writing could make up for it. When she reaches her goal, she dives down in the water and I guess this was supposed to be a major emotional moment, but it did not felt like that for me. The only thumbs up I can give this movie is for the great cinematography and landscapes depicted here. But you can see this also in uncountable nature documentaries. Not recommended.

(89%) A realistic, non-Hollywood adventure drama featuring a brilliant starring role from Mia Wasikowska, and beyond fantastic direction and location work. This maybe is one of the best looking and well shot movies of the year as the screen fills with the harsh yet wonderful outback as the colours of the sand covered landscape dominates everything. The pace will be too slow for the impatient, or those fed on a diet of MTV style garbage cinema with cuts every 2 seconds, but those that are able to immerse themselves into this stunning, simple, and superbly well-made near two hour trip to Australia will be rewarded with a film that is both poignant and magical. A highly recommended alluring marvel that's worth every penny tracking down, especially on the big screen.

Review: Although the movie is quite deep and meaningful, I couldn't help getting a bit bored with watching someone walk for bloody miles. You don't really get a chance to connect with the main character because the movie jumps right in from the get go. I was waiting for something to happen throughout the movie, but the movie stays in the same tone and doesn't get that interesting. I don't think that the leading actress, Wasikowska, was the best choice for the role because she lacks emotion or the ability to really connect to anyone. In all, the movie does drag after a while and I did find it pretty boring. Average! Round-Up: I'm glad that they showed the real lady, in the bonus footage, who went through this tremendous ordeal, because I found that more interesting than the whole movie. When you hear about her true life journey it really does bring to light her achievement, against all odds. The whole camel and dog aspect to her journey was quite amazing, but I really don't think that this movie done the true story any justice. Wasikowska, who has also starred in Alice in Wonderland and Lawless, doesn't really change throughout her journey, which is quite surprising because of the many different people that help her along her way. I honestly blame the director more than the actress because he could have made the film more intense and dramatic. Budget: $12million Worldwide Gross: $4million (Flop!) I recommend this movie to people who are into there true stories about a woman who is determined to walk from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean with 3 camels and a dog. 4/10

I really don't know what in this film touched so many reviewers. I waited patiently for some plot, character development or touching moments but got nothing but flat boring pretense. I suppose the acting was OK but there wasn't much story to act to. I was really hoping the main character would develop over the long journey but seemed about as dry and lifeless as the desert she wandered through. For some reason Robyn Davidson, who wrote the script, made the photographer Smolan out to be some sappy loser who was somehow stalking her when in actual fact she requested that he photograph her journey when Nat. Geo showed interest. All the flashbacks were just disjointed and contrived. She tries really hard to make herself out as some kind of victim... to what end I never understood. The scene where the reporters charge her in the desert is just absurd. I decided not to mark this as containing spoilers because for there to be spoilers something interesting would have needed to happen. This story really reminded me about Chris Mccandless, except he seemed to be a genuinely nice person unlike Davidson.

There are some foolish or self-centered (or both!) people in this world who will do exactly what they want even though the cost of their little adventures may have to be shared by others. The protagonist here is basically an asocial woman with people issues (not judging so far) who decides to take a suicidal trip into the desert. She obviously doesn't care for her life (which again is perfectly OK). She decides to take her dog along for this borderline suicidal trip, now here I have a problem with her decision. The dog ends up dying quite horribly later on in her little excursion as one might expect. The selfish fool also has a baby camel along with adult camels on her fun little ride. Watch this film if you want to see the amount of cruelty our race can perpetrate on other species while meaning well and being completely oblivious to the actual harm our actions cause. The half-wit's adventure was published in Nat Geo, which led to a book, which led to this movie. Basically, society took a person who was essentially an idiot and encouraged her and patted her on the back. Why? Because she did something different and she suffered and got lucky to make it out alive - and we as a society are bored and need to get our thrills vicariously. There is a point where an Aboriginal man is shamed to walk with her on her meaningless whim of a journey - she may not value her life but the people around her do and are made to pay the price. The man has to accompany her, ironically, so she can take a shorter path and walk less. Another way to walk less would be to pack it in and go home but that doesn't give you any boasting rights. After the walk with the man is done she's ruthless (and selfish - but that's already been established) enough to ask him to accompany her for the rest of the journey. I guess my problem is with the real life protagonist and to a lesser extent with the people (like those who made this movie) who encouraged her. Mia Wasikowska is a brilliant brilliant actress and does a bang up job of portraying a troubled recluse, oblivious to the effect her actions have on others. I only wish she had never played this idiot. I wish this movie had never been made. There is a final scene when the protagonist take a plunge in a deep blue pool of water. I know she went on to make some money out of her adventures but I was still hoping that a pool of hungry sharks would rip her to shreds and put her out of her misery. Alas, her story disappointed me even at the very end and she made it out OK. To walk the world with her head held high because at one point of her life she was very troubled and did something really dumb.