The Tracker, directed by Rolf De Heer, is an Australian film set in the outback in 1922. But the movie really should be called "The Legend of the Tracker," as the story is accompanied by magnificent storyboard primitive paintings by Peter Coad and by melodious tunes sung in the manner of protest folk songs. When the film begins, The Tracker (played by David Gulpilil) is on a search for an aborigine who has been accused of murdering a white woman. The posse is led by The Fanatic (played by Gary Sweet); the others are a firstimer, The Follower (played by Damon Gameau), and The Veteran (played by Grant Page). While The Tracker goes on foot to spot the direction in which The Fugitive (played by Noel Wilton) is going, the rest are on horseback; they have a spare horse in case one goes astray or dies. The Fanatic makes clear from the beginning that he considers the accused to be a sort of Moby Dick who needs to be captured by any means necessary. When The Fanatic encounters an encampment of six aborigines, he starts to interrogate them, though they do not understand English, and The Follower soon joins in a macabre attempt to ascertain information that they do not possess. Ultimately, all are chained, shot, and hung. Next, The Fanatic shoots The Veteran's horse, which has a wild moment; The Veteran then rides on the spare horse. One night, The Tracker walks off to find food; realizing that he is absent without permission, The Fanatic puts a chain around his head upon his return. During the following days, The Tracker holds the end of the chain in his hand. Next, a spear lands in the back of The Veteran. After The Fanatic pulls out the spear and binds his wound, he refuses to slow down as The Veteran lags behind in pain; that night, The Fanatic kills him. Next, The Tracker tries to kill The Fanatic by jumping into a pond so that The Tracker is pulled under because he is at the other end of the chain. Nevertheless, The Fanatic survives, and he threatens but does not punish the Tracker. During The Fanatic's cruelties, The Follower clearly is unhappy. When the posse encounters a second aboriginal encampment, The Fanatic starts to shoot to kill even before attempting an interrogation. The Follower soon puts a rifle in his neck, forcing him to give up his firearms, to dismount, and to wear the chain that was formerly placed around The Tracker. During the night, The Fanatic tries to get free by intimidating The Follower verbally, but to no avail, as the latter plans to turn him in as a murderer of innocent people. Then The Fanatic tries to appear to be progressive, telling a tale about how he taught another aboriginal tracker to live as a white man, got him a place to live, and how we wants to repeat the favor for other aborigines. He also indicates opposition to miscegenation, arguing that half-castes end up with the worst traits of both races. Having heard enough, The Tracker strings him up in the middle of the night, asks him how he pleads for the crime of murdering innocent people, and hangs him. When The Follower awakens, he is shocked at first but accepts the fact that justice has been served. Then The Tracker leads The Follower into a tribal encampment where the culprit is being detained because he raped the white woman, though he did not kill her. The Tracker spears the murderer's thigh as punishment. The following day, The Tracker parts company to rejoin his tribe. As The Follower also rides off, he asks who might have killed the white woman. The Tracker replies that a white man undoubtedly is responsible, articulating the same negative stereotypes that The Fanatic had assigned to aborigines. The Tracker is hyped as an allegory of how Australian whites in authority treated aborigines in times past. Indeed, The Tracker articulates a passé racist rhetoric, but the film also paradigms the role of the "good white." The apartheid ending suggests that white Australians should have left the aborigines alone, but the fact is that they did not. Reparations to the aborigines certainly seem appropriate, but the movie stops short of arguing that case for justice. MH
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