The Tracker

"All men choose the path they walk."

2002 1h 30m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 73

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Somewhere in Australia in the early 20th century outback, an Aboriginal man is accused of murdering a white woman. Three white men are on a mission to capture him with the help of an experienced Indigenous man.

“All men choose the path they walk.”

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Cast

David Gulpilil
The Tracker
Gary Sweet
The Fanatic
Damon Gameau
The Follower
Grant Page
The Veteran
Noel Wilton
The Fugutive

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rolf de Heer
Writers: Rolf de Heer
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rolf de Heer, shot by Ian Jones. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Graham Tardif. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tania Nehme shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Gulpilil and Gary Sweet and Damon Gameau carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "All men choose the path they walk.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rolf de Heer directs. Ian Jones behind the camera. Graham Tardif scores. Tania Nehme cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Australia, Italy. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 24 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Australia, Italy.
4Directed by Rolf de Heer, shot by Ian Jones. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Graham Tardif. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Tania Nehme shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7David Gulpilil and Gary Sweet and Damon Gameau carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "All men choose the path they walk.".
9IMDB entry: tt0212132 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "australia", "fanatic", "racism", "outback".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ian Jones
Original score: Graham Tardif
Editing: Tania Nehme
Costume design: Beverly Freeman
Makeup / hair: Beverly Freeman
Sound: James Currie
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $442,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Tracker (2002)

Awards

AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Rolf de Heer

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2026-06-29
★ 7/10
Summary: 7/10: patient, unconventional filmmaking that earns its deliberate pace and rewards those willing to meet it on its own terms. This is a film of historical memory, examining the brutal treatment of Australian Aboriginals by invading British colonizers. Director Rolf de Heer sets his story in 1922, when an Aboriginal tracker leads three white policemen in pursuit of another Aboriginal man accused of murdering a white woman. The film's significance extends beyond its historical setting; some one million First Peoples of Australia are still fighting for recognition and status today, making this portrait of colonial violence and complicity uncomfortably relevant. This is not a movie for the impatient. It's long, very slow, accompanied throughout by slow ballads sung by Archie Roach that function as both commentary and lament. The film is obviously low budget; de Heer uses painted stills instead of special effects when violence occurs, a deliberate artistic choice that disrupts the usual place violent scenes occupy in cinema. There's no payoff for viewers seeking the thrill of gore; instead, each killing becomes instant history, memorialized rather than sensationalized. Yet somehow, once you accept the pace and style, the film reveals itself as very good indeed. Four men, six relationships, all of them shaped by power, race, and moral compromise. The Tracker (David Gulpilil) leads; The Fanatic (Gary Sweet) commands with brutal authority; The Follower (Damon Gameau) observes with growing horror; The Veteran (Grant Page) knows too much to be shocked anymore. The acting is entirely believable, each performer inhabiting their role with restraint and conviction. And the landscapes are genuinely amazing. The Australian outback has never been captured quite like this, vast and pitiless and beautiful, a country that holds its secrets and doesn't forgive. De Heer's vision earned the film a place in Official Competition at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, competing for the Golden Lion. For the acting, the story, Archie Roach's haunting ballads, and those extraordinary landscapes, this deserves recognition as an important work of cinema that refuses easy answers or comfortable distance from Australia's colonial violence.

Production companies