Film Review: Tracks
Emily Manthei
The true story of an Australian woman’s lonely walk across nearly 1,700 miles of Australian desert from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean, and the photos of an intrepid National Geographic photographer who dropped in along the way, is what inspired “Tracks,” John Curran’s new film starring Mia Wasikowska. The mesmerizing, filmic journey was adapted from the real-life traveler Robyn Davidson’s 1980 memoir of the same name. Adam Driver co-stars as Rick Smolan.
The lead character, Robyn, is accompanied by four accommodating camels and her priceless black lab on the journey. Of the lab, she says, “The universe gave us three things to make life bearable: hope, jokes and dogs. But the greatest of these is dogs.”
A careful look at the animals with whom she shares her journey frames her perspective. She is silent but thoughtful; a force of unbroken will with a touch so soft it almost melts; a survivalist, but not without empathy. “Many people who love animals—especially women—are portrayed as having some deficiency in relating to people,” her voiceover in the movie said. “I suspect most of those critics have never had an animal.”
And indeed, Robyn’s feeling of being misunderstood—and her lack of concern for those who do—seem to motivate her journey in some part.
The sparse, dream-like narrative that winds its way through Robyn’s preparation on a small farm in Alice Springs and almost 200 days in the Australian desert is shot so beautifully it nearly erases the harshness of the barren and difficult conditions. But the effect is contemplative, as the viewer is swept into Robyn’s thoughts and feelings, interspersed with tasteful flashbacks in the guise of desert mirages. The sequences of the film vacillate between gain and loss, where every step of Robyn’s journey means moving on to something new while leaving an old discovery or moment behind. A well-timed and not-overbearing voiceover ensures we’re following Robyn’s point of view as she walks, eats her bland daily meal of lentils and onions, and plays with her dog along the way.
“I will not justify my need for solitude,” her voiceover tells us. And she doesn’t, even as curious tourists who have learned of her journey drive along her path looking for a photo-op, and aggressive reporters stalk her. Even the endlessly chatty Smolen, whose magazine Robyn enlisted to pay for her travels, sometimes proves too much for the introspective Robyn to handle on his one-day visits throughout her journey.
But it is not lack of socialization that drives Robyn to the desert, either. As she makes her way through Aboriginal villages, she gains friends and finds a companion in an ancient mystic, Mr. Eddie (Roly Mintuma). He leads her across sacred grounds over which she cannot pass alone. Mintuma steals each scene he enters. Although most of his dialogue passes in indecipherable mumbles and wild hand gestures, he and Robyn obviously share a sense of the sacred journey they take together and the physical and psychological distance bound-up with it. By the time the two part ways, she’s given him an extra pair of shoes and a hunting rifle. She has gained a spiritual mentor who stays with her throughout the rest of the journey.
“Tracks” is a “slow-burn” that takes your mind and heart on a journey longer than the 1,700 miles Robyn covers. But successfully coming out the other side is reward in itself. As Robyn reminds us, “A journey is not about what you carry, but about what you leave behind.”