Wonderful character development!

Too many fans seem to be blown away

A Major Disappointment

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tracks (2013) is a breathtakingly beautiful biopic by Australian filmmaker John Curran, which is about the truly remarkable journey of a young woman. It is a screen adaptation (written by Marion Nelson) of Robyn Davidson's memoir.In 1977 Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) decides to take on a journey across the Australian outback. She covers a distance of 1,700 miles on foot only in the company of her dog Diggity and 4 camels. Davidson was able to get sponsored by The National Geographic, who send the photographer Rick Smolan (Adam Driver) to take pictures of her along the way. She starts her expedition in Alice Springs and after over 6 months arrives on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Curran's film Tracks is a Biopic, but it can also be categorised as an adventure film or drama. It shows Davidson's struggles before and during her journey and addresses themes like dealing with solitude, loss, danger and reaching one's goals. The visual transformation of Davidson is captured remarkably through costume and makeup. Davidson's skin becomes tanner and is starting to show the effects of the sun and her clothes start to look worn out and distressed. Wasikowska and Driver not only look very similar to Davidson and Smolan they also play their characters in very convincingly. The filmmakers also made an effort to recapture the original photographs taken by Smolan through the cinematography. Most of the pictures Smolan (Driver) seems to be taking in the film have an original counterpart. The audience gets to see a beautiful array of extreme long shots in combination with pans that capture the rural desolation of the outback intertwined with medium to extreme close-ups of the animals and people in the film. Occasional shots from above follow Davidson's tracks and show the constantly changing surroundings. Throughout the film, the viewer gets to see flashbacks to Davidson's childhood which gives an insight into her childhood. An additional beautiful detail of the film is the non-diegetic music which is composed by Garth Stevenson. The style of the music is loosely comparable to the desert, it recaptures the wilderness and bleakness through a soft and inconspicuous string and piano music. Overall, Tracks is a stunningly beautiful film that recaptures an incredible true story as well as the Australian desert in an outstanding way.

So okay, road movie might not be the right word for it considering that our 'heroine' doesn't go by any vehicle or by any roads, but I mean in the end it's the same sort of ordeal as a road movie.Perhaps more of a spiritual journey, but so are the best road-movies.Anyways, the movie is based on Robyn Davidson's real life-tale who set out to with nothing but a dog and some camels go on a 1700 mile trek across the Australian desert.A bit slow (naturally) but Mia Wasikowska in the lead as Robyn does well at engaging us viewers in a fairly restricted performance (which is a great task in itself) and the cinematography is also well-shot which helps as well.If I should point out anything negative then that is that the end for me didn't pack the great emotional punch that I was hoping for, and that Adam Driver's character was a bit annoying (but that could very well been partly intentional).But other than that no real complaints and I would watch it again, and most definitely will at some point.

The problem with 'Tracks' isn't that it's badly acted. It isn't, as Mia Wasikowska is excellent as outback explorer Robyn Davidson. It's not that it's poorly shot because it isn't, as the cinematography perfectly captures the harsh beauty of the Australian desert. It also has no problems with direction or editing or sound quality, in fact everything is in place for it to be a perfectly decent film.Except for one thing; the story. Focusing on a young woman's largely solitary nine month trek, 'Tracks' is a film that suffers from similar problems to 'On The Road' and 'Into The Wild' before it. For while there's nothing wrong with going out into the world on a prolonged sabbatical to "find yourself," it's hard to find a reason to care about what is essentially a film version of someone's holiday photos. Which is a real shame because as I've said, Wasikowska is terrific. She's a reserved and cautious lead, perfectly happy walking through miles of snake-infested wilderness with no shoes on but shying away from any real human connection. The film is almost entirely her show, told through facial reactions and body language and she manages to be empathetic throughout, even if she is a bit prickly around other human beings. In fact, out of the remaining characters, only Adam Driver's sporadic appearances as her photographer have any meat on them. His and Robyn's growing relationship is one of the small triumphs here, evolving from reluctant business partners through on again/off again lovers and finally a genuine friendship. Everyone else, from surly farmers to concerned parents barely gets a look in.As good as the performances are however, it's very difficult to make a film about an extended stroll invigorating. Robyn only has one goal and that's getting to the end of a journey we already know she completes and aside from a few faintly hallucinogenic moments (was that motorcyclist really there?), it all starts to feel a bit too much like watching someone's gap year unfold. On the plus side though, unlike the heroine of the sort-of-similar 'Eat, Pray, Love,' Robyn isn't a nauseating self-obsessed egomaniac indulging in a year long pity party and instead is a resourceful and likable lead. There's a lot to admire in 'Tracks,' but it's difficult to enjoy in the traditional sense. Watch it on Netflix but don't buy the DVD.

A film of Robyn Davidson's book in which she recounted her journey across Australia on foot, accompanied by four camels and a dog.An interesting story, beautiful scenery, good acting. Initially it's difficult to sympathise with the main character's circumstances. She admits she wants to get away from people but her trip relies heavily on others in various ways, for which she shows littler gratitude.By the end of the film/trip she seems to have mellowed a little and become more realistic. Perhaps her predicaments and having had time to think result in a less self-centred person who is open to appreciating others.