Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Tracks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 15, 2014

Nominated for the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, John Curran's "Tracks" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Entertainment One. The only bonus feature on the disc is a large collection of filmed interviews with cast and crew members. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"I will walk alone..."

The film recreates a true event. In 1977, 26-year old Robyn Davidson trekked approximately 1,700 miles through the Australian outback with four camels and her favorite dog Diggity. During the trip, she met National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan, who took numerous pictures and sporadically helped her with food and water.

The film is broken into two uneven sections. In the first the focus of attention is on Davidson’s ((Mia Wasikowska, The Double, Only Lovers Left Alive) struggle to save enough and get ready for the trip. She works odd jobs that complicate her plan, but eventually an elderly Afghan cameleer helps her and she leaves Alice Springs with the camels and Diggity.

In the second section Davidson walks from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean. The journey is long and dangerous, but Davidson is never seen doubting herself. The only time when she genuinely looks brittle and frightened is when she temporarily loses her camels in the desert. Towards the end of her journey, a tragic event also forces her to begin reevaluating her life.

A small portion of the film is reserved for Davidson’s relationship with the young National Geographic photographer (Adam Driver, Inside Llewyn Davis, Frances Ha), but he never becomes a major character. Sporadic flashbacks also reveal bits of Davidson’s past and her interactions with her father, who inspired her to dream big.

The film is based on the book Davidson published a few years after she completed her journey, but Marion Nelson’s script slightly alters the nature of Davidson’s relationship with the photographer. The film also rationalizes Davidson’s journey in a way that makes it easy to understand why she risked her life, while the book leaves a lot of questions unanswered. (One aspect that is present in both is Davidson’s obvious dissatisfaction with the ‘civilized’ world she was a part of).

Wasikowska is astonishing as the determined young traveler. There are large parts of the film where the camera simply observes her face and body movement, but it is incredibly easy to tell exactly what is going on in her mind. Her interactions with the photographer and the elderly guide (Roly Mintuma) are also very convincing.

Cinematographer Mandy Walker’s (Lantana, Australia) lensing is exceptional. In fact, plenty of the panoramic footage from the Australian outback is far more beautiful and atmospheric than that the great Christopher Doyle shot for Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence. The final third of the film, in particular, looks extraordinary.

The impressive visuals are complimented by a very special ambient score created by Brooklyn-based double bassist Garth Stevenson. The minimalistic melodies perfectly blend with the nature sounds and even the evolving colors of the sunrises and sunsets.

Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Curran's Tracks arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Entertainment One.

The film truly looks quite astonishing on Blu-ray. Indeed, Mandy Walker's impeccable lensing captures the beauty of rural Australia in ways which at times make it difficult to believe that one isn't looking at moving paintings. There are a couple of sequences during the final twenty or so minutes, in particular, that look absolutely incredible. Clarity occasionally fluctuates, but there are specific optical effects -- natural light is captured in a variety of unique ways -- that are part of the film's original cinematography. Color reproduction is outstanding. There are no stability or transition issues to report in this review. Also, there are no encoding anomalies. All in all, this is an excellent technical presentation of Tracks which I am convinced will remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Entertainment One have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film has a fantastic audio design, though you should not expect to have the muscles of your audio system tested. What is likely to impress you are the rich and beautiful ambient music and the exceptionally crisp nature sounds. Once Robyn enters the outback, the lush and superbly mixed soundtrack gives the film an entirely new identity. I viewed the film with the 5.1 track and encourage you to do so as well -- it is clearly superior and boasting a wider range of nuanced dynamics. On both tracks the dialog is equally crisp, stable, and easy to follow.

Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews - a large collection of filmed interviews with cast and crew members discussing the shooting of Tracks, the true story that inspired it and the characters in it. In English and Aboriginal, with imposed English subtitles where necessary.
  
  1. Mia Wasikowska - actress/Robyn (9 min).
  2. Adam Driver - actor/Rick (4 min).
  3. Rainer Bock - actor/Kurt (3 min).
  4. Rolley Mintuma (and his wife Pixie Brown) - actor (3 min).
  5. John Curran - director (14 min).
  6. Emile Sherman - producer (12 min).
  7. Robyn Davidson - author of Tracks (13 min).
  8. Melinda Doring - production designer (3 min).
  9. Mariot Kerr - costume designer (3 min).
  10. Zeljka Stann - make-up artist (2 min).
  11. Rick Smolan - photographer on Robyn's original trip (7 min).
  12. Andrew Harper - head cameleer (4 min).

Tracks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I liked everything about John Curran's Tracks. Having read Robyn Davidson's book, I only wish the film had preserved some of its ambiguity. The atmosphere and the visuals, however, are absolutely phenomenal. British distributors Entertainment One's technical presentation of Tracks is enormously impressive and I will make sure that their Blu-ray release appears on my Top 10 list at the end of the year. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.