Tracks - Blu-ray

Movie: Bored with life in the big city and searching for a deeper meaning in her existence, young Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) drifts to the small Australian town of Alice Springs in 1975. From here she wants to fulfill a very special dream: alone with her dog Diggity and four camels she wants to cross the Australian desert to the Indian Ocean. 2,700 kilometres through scorching heat and dangerous terrain, and that as a woman - no one here wants to take that seriously. Nevertheless, after many setbacks, Robyn manages to embark on the journey, but has to make a big compromise: to secure the necessary funding, National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan (Adam Driver) is allowed to join Robyn at regular intervals and photograph her. But although the young adventurer feels extremely disturbed by the unwanted companion, especially at the beginning, she soon has to realize that much bigger and dangerous obstacles will stand in her way on this journey...

Tracks is based on the book of the same name by Robyn Davidson, with which the Australian has been able to delight and inspire millions of readers. New York-based director John Curran has turned this very special borderline experience into a gripping on-screen drama that thrives on two aspects in particular: firstly, the terrific imagery, which has some quite fascinating moments that are also menacing in their beauty. Secondly, it is the performance of leading actress Mia Wasikowska that leaves a lasting impression. The 24-year-old Australian, who has been one of Hollywood's most successful young actresses since Alice in Wonderland at the latest, perfectly embodies the headstrong Robyn, who desperately tries to fill her inner void and to do so rebels not only against the male-dominated society but also against the harsh rules of nature. How she doggedly sticks to her goal but opens up to the world, her life and other people like the Aboriginal Mr. Eddy (Rolly Mintuma) in the face of physical exhaustion, total loneliness and life-threatening situations is very moving, haunting and also comprehensibly realized thanks to Wasikowka's haunting acting.

Although Robyn's journey through the desert has the most impressive moments to offer purely visually thanks to Mandy Walker's camerawork, the preparations and associated setbacks are dramaturgically the most exciting part of the film. How Robyn tames wild camels, builds a bond with the animals, toils almost to the point of physical exhaustion, only to be thrown right back to square one is heartbreaking to watch. The fact that she doesn't break from this, but actually gains strength, is well conveyed by the rather detailed treatment of this part of the story. When the actual journey starts, Robyn has not only the sympathy but also the respect of the audience fully on her side and she no longer seems, as perhaps at the beginning, like an idealistic dreamer.

That the audience literally feels the scorching heat, craves with Robyn for water or for recovery periods and is happy about every little success speaks for the powerful production. However, it also makes the sad and terrible moments seem all the more intense. Spuren is on the whole a beautiful movie, but it also has moments that are hard to bear. Although these are always announced well in advance, it does little to change their effect.

The film is not perfect, but there are too many small lengths, some somewhat clichéd secondary characters and a few scenes that lack subtlety. But despite minor flaws, Spuren has become a rousing adventure that is also a truly gripping experience in home cinema. Absolutely worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The film lives not only from the strong play of Mia Wasikowska, but also from the fantastic images, which are very good on the Blu-ray thanks to a very high image sharpness and an atmospheric color mixing. There is also nothing to complain about here in terms of contrast matching, which is why the film's visual realisation for home cinema leaves a very positive overall impression. The same goes for the audio, which is present in an atmospheric DTS-HD Master Audio mix. The sound thrives on the very well-realized soundscape of the Australian desert, which has some really powerful surround moments to offer in some scenes. Good!

Extras: As a bonus there are three short promo featurettes in German about the film (approx. 2:31 min.), about the true story of Robyn Davidson (approx. 3:22 min.), as well as about the journey to himself (approx. 2:52 min.). The six interviews (approx. 29:59 min.) are interesting, especially the one with the real Robyn Davidson. Finally, there's some uncommented B-roll footage (approx. 6:00 min.), as well as an interactive map of the journey with some image and text overlays, though these are only easy to read on a large screen.

Conclusion: Spuren is a rousing adventure that thrills with wonderful imagery, a great lead actress, and an exciting (true) story. On the Blu-ray presents the visually stunning drama in very good picture and sound quality, in the bonus material is particularly worth watching the interview with the real Robyn Davidson. For lovers of the somewhat more sophisticated entertainment cinema there is a: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp