This handsome-looking period yarn stars Ray Winstone (sporting a surprisingly convincing South African accent) as an ex-farmer turned fighter from the Boer Wars of the late 1800’s who, upon arrival in New Zealand, is tasked by the British army in tracking down a Maori seaman (Temuera Morrison) who has been wrongly accused of killing an officer, having been caught during a roll in the hay (literally) with a young English woman.
With a posse in tow and two divergent routes, Winstone splits from the other soldiers and goes it alone. He soon finds his bounty, but what he also (unexpectedly) finds is a growing fondness and kinship towards the Maori, who on top of being on the run for a crime he didn’t commit, has to suffer the indignation of fleeing across land which belonged to his forefathers. Winstone soon finds himself at odds with the British over the prisoner’s fate as he wrestles with his own sense of justice and morals.
Following the briefest of cinema releases and with zero hype or reciving any real coverage before hitting the small screen market, Tracker is one of those rare films which takes you by surprise in terms of the quality on offer for such a seemingly low-key feature. It’s a solid two-hander which sits well above that kind of forgettable DTV material which seems to appear out of nowhere on a weekly basis.
Both stars are excellent. Winstone’s character is buttoned-down and emotionally numb, having lost something far more precious to him in the war than land, and he wears his stoicism well. Morrison still has some of that fire which was evident in his breakout role of Jake “the Muss” Heke in Once Were Warriors (a film which is, shockingly, 17 year-old now!) but he also exudes a warmth and sympathetic nature as the persecuted local (two words you’d never associate with the explosive and unpredictable Heke).
As the two make their way back to the rendezvous point with the British, the odd couple set-up is something we’re seem numerous times before in many incarnations (the early bickering between the two and Morrison’s insistence on perpetually trying Winstone’s patience brings to mind Midnight Run) but it’s handled well, and the constant methods used by the duo to try and outfox each other are both humorous and dramatic at times.
The stunning landscape is another contributing factor to the quality here. The lush New Zealand greenery and breathtaking craggy shorelines can’t help but conjure up memories of that epic Middle Earth trilogy, but director Ian Sharp still manages to bring his own visual stamp to the environment and assisted by some fantastic cinematography, you really buy into the spiritual aspects of the land which Morrison’s character tries to impress upon his captor.
If you’re in the mood for a solid adventure story with a little heart too, this film is well worth tracking down.
[Rating:3.5/5]
