Tracker (film)

Tracker
	Film poster
Directed by	Ian Sharp
Written by	Nicholas Van Pallandt
Starring	Ray Winstone ; Temuera Morrison
Distributed by	Kaleidoscope Entertainment
Release date	12 September 2010(TIFF);
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United Kingdom; New Zealand
Language	English

Last updated March 15, 2019

Tracker is a 2011 British–New Zealand action-thriller film set in 1903 New Zealand, directed by Ian Sharp and starring Ray Winstone and Temuera Morrison.

New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Ian Sharp is an English film and television director.

Raymond Andrew Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "hard man" roles beginning with his role as Carlin in the 1979 film Scum. He also played Kevin, an ex-army soldier, in Quadrophenia as well as Will Scarlet in the television series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over actor, and has recently branched out into film production.

Plot

Arjan van Diemen is a renowned Afrikaner commando leader of the Second Boer War, and a master tracker. After the end of the war, after the defeat by the British, he emigrates from South Africa to Auckland in the British colony of New Zealand, but is recognised by Sergeant-Major Saunders, a British soldier who also fought in the Second Boer War, and is arrested upon entry. However Major Carlysle, also a British Boer War veteran, and now the officer in charge of the British garrison in Auckland, respects van Diemen as a former opponent and releases him.

The Second Boer War was fought between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa. It is also known variously as the Boer War, Anglo-Boer War, or South African War. Initial Boer attacks were successful, and although British reinforcements later reversed these, the war continued for years with Boer guerrilla warfare, until harsh British counter-measures brought them to terms.

Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,628,900. It is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki-makau-rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions.

Meanwhile, Kereama, a Maori harpooner on a whaling ship, sleeps with a prostitute in an army stable. A drunk Sergeant-Major Saunders arrives with two of his comrades expresses his anger at the Maori coupling with "pure British women". He and his comrades then beat and taunt Kereama, who fights back; in the confusion Saunders accidentally kills one of his own men. Saunders evades responsibility by blaming Kereama. Kereama knows that he will not have a fair trial and runs. After Saunders convinces a sceptical Major Carlysle of Kereama's guilt, Carlysle with Bryce, a civilian tracker, and a posse of soldiers pursues Kereama. Carlysle knows that van Diemen is a master tracker and offers him a substantial reward to help them. Eventually van Diemen surprises and captures Kereama.

The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages some time between 1250 and 1300. Over several centuries in isolation, the Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture, with their own language, a rich mythology, and distinctive crafts and performing arts. Early Māori formed tribal groups based on eastern Polynesian social customs and organisation. Horticulture flourished using plants they introduced; later, a prominent warrior culture emerged.

Kereama persistently protests his innocence of the murder of the soldier as van Diemen takes him back, and says he will not have a fair trial. However, notwithstanding their common traumas at the hands of the British, van Diemen refuses to release Kereama and they make their way back across the New Zealand landscape heading for the British garrison and the prisoner’s certain execution.

The filmmakers describe the story's background as follows:

The Second Boer War, a conflict between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics in South Africa, lasted from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902.
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35,500,000 km² (13,700,000 sq mi), 24% of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, the phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" was often used to describe the British Empire, because its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (White), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.
With the British in nominal control of the republics by 1901, the Boer farmers adopted guerrilla warfare tactics: strike fast and hard causing as much damage to the enemy as possible, and then withdraw and vanish before enemy reinforcements could arrive. This strategy proved effective and the British were forced to revise their own tactics.
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which a small group of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars; use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and mobility to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military. Guerrilla groups are a type of violent non-state actor.
The British retaliated with a “Scorched Earth” policy, bringing the Boers to their knees. As British troops swept the countryside, they systematically destroyed crops, burned homesteads and farms, poisoned wells and interned Boer women and children in concentration camps.
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges, and thus no trial. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply mean imprisonment, it tends to refer to preventive confinement, rather than confinement after having been convicted of some crime. Use of these terms is subject to debate and political sensitivities.
In the aftermath, many of the defeated Boers were unable to return to their farms at all; others attempted to do so but were forced to abandon farms as unworkable given the damage caused by farm burning and salting of the fields in the course of the scorched earth policy. Thus, many drifted to the far corners of the empire, in search of a new home...

Cast

The cast consists of British and New Zealand actors.^[1]

Ray Winstone as Arjan van Diemen
Temuera Morrison as Kereama
Gareth Reeves as Major Pritchard Carlysle
Mark Mitchinson as Sergeant-Major Saunders
Dan Musgrove as Private Rennick
Andy Anderson as Bryce
Mick Rose as Sergeant Leybourne
Jodie Hillock as Lucy
Jed Brophy as Corporal Barker

Production

Director: Ian Sharp Writer: Nicolas Van Pallandt ^[2] The film is a co-production of the UK Film Council and New Zealand Film Commission.

It was shot around the Queenstown lakes area of South Island.^[3]

Release

Tracker opened in the UK on 22 April 2011.^[4] The film went to DVD in June 2011, distributed internationally by Kaleidoscope Entertainment.

Awards

Tracker made official selection for the Toronto and Valencia film festivals.

Related Research Articles

New Zealand Wars 1845-1872 armed conflicts in New Zealand

The New Zealand Wars were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand government and the Māori. Until at least the 1980s, European New Zealanders referred to them as the Māori wars; the historian James Belich was one of the first to refer to them as the "New Zealand wars", in his 1987 book The New Zealand wars and the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict.

Utu is a 1983 New Zealand film directed and co-written by Geoff Murphy. Anzac Wallace, who had done little acting up until that point, takes the starring role of Te Wheke, a warrior who sets out to get vengeance after British forces kill his people. The cast also includes Bruno Lawrence and Kelly Johnson. Sometimes described as "a Maori Western", Utu was reputed to have one of the largest budgets for a New Zealand film up until that time.

Frederick Edward Maning was a notable early settler in New Zealand, a writer and judge of the Native Land Court. He published two books under the pseudonym of "a Pakeha Maori."

Temuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand actor who first gained recognition for his role as Dr. Hone Ropata on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. He gained critical acclaim after starring as Jake "The Muss" Heke in the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and its 1999 sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?.

Sir Howard Leslie Morrison was a New Zealand entertainer. From 1964 until his death in 2009 he was one of New Zealand's leading television and concert performers.

John Lucas VC was a British Army soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

River Queen is a 2005 New Zealand-British war drama film directed by Vincent Ward and starring Samantha Morton, Kiefer Sutherland, Cliff Curtis and Stephen Rea. The film opened to mixed reviews but performed well at the box office in New Zealand.

The military history of New Zealand is an aspect of the history of New Zealand that spans several hundred years. When first settled by Māori almost a millennium ago, there was much land and resources, but war began to break out as the country's carrying capacity was approached. Initially being fought with close range weapons of wood and stone, this continued on and off until Europeans arrived, bringing with them new weapons such as muskets. Colonisation by Britain led to the New Zealand land wars in the 19th century in which settler and imperial troops and their Māori allies fought against other Māori and a handful of Pākehā. In the first half of the 20th century, New Zealanders of all races fought alongside Britain in the Boer War and both World Wars. In the second half of the century and into this century the New Zealand Defence Force has provided token assistance to the United States in several conflicts. New Zealand has also contributed troops extensively to multilateral peacekeeping operations.

Rena Owen is a New Zealand actress in theatre, television and film. Owen is best known for her leading role as Beth Heke in Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors and as Taun We in George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

John Bryce was a New Zealand politician from 1871 to 1891 and Minister of Native Affairs from 1879 to 1884. In his attitudes to Māori land questions, he favoured strict legal actions against Māori opposed to alienation, and he personally directed the invasion of Parihaka and the arrest of the leaders of the movement.

The Seekers is a 1954 British adventure film produced by the Universal-International studio syndicate from Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, directed by Ken Annakin. It starred Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell, and Kenneth Williams.

Rain of the Children is a 2008 feature film written, directed and produced by Vincent Ward.

Dr. Hone Ropata is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who was portrayed by Temuera Morrison as part of the original cast. Morrison maintained the role for three years before briefly reprising in it 2008 to commemorate the show's 4000th episode.

The Devil's Rock is a 2011 New Zealand supernatural war film produced by Leanne Saunders, directed by Paul Campion, written by Campion, Paul Finch, and Brett Ihaka, and starring Craig Hall, Matthew Sunderland, Gina Varela, and Karlos Drinkwater. It is set in the Channel Islands on the eve of D-Day and tells the story of two New Zealand commandos who discover a Nazi occult plot to unleash a demon to win World War II. The film combines elements of war films and supernatural horror films. The film was theatrically released on July 8, 2011 in the United Kingdom and September 22, 2011 in New Zealand. The film received mixed reviews from critics with the majority rating it average to above average and with many audience viewers on IMDB giving it a higher than average review.

Francis Morphet Twisleton was a New Zealand soldier who served in the Boer War and the First World War and became well known for his writings of soldiering life.

The Battle of Witpoort was a battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. Major Frederick Henry Munn commanded the detachment of the Royal Irish Fusiliers at Witpoort which was attacked on 16 July 1900, his orders being to "hold his position at all costs". The Boers called on Major Munn to surrender, but, scornfully refusing, he held out from daybreak till 2 pm, when the Canadian forces mounted a counterattack and the Boers retired. The battle became famous because of the death of Harold Lothrop Borden.

Blood and Glory is a feature film that was released to cinema in April 2016 in South Africa. The film, set during the Second Boer War in 1901, is a period drama that follows Willem Morkel, a Cape Rebel Boer/Afrikaans farmer who was captured and sent to a British prisoner of war camp on St. Helena Island in the Atlantic Ocean. Placed under terrible oppression and hardship, Morkel and his comrades slowly come together to assert their defiance, humanity and human spirit and, more specifically, through the game of rugby.

The Queen's Scarf was awarded to British and colonial soldiers for bravery during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). Eight scarves were personally crocheted by Queen Victoria and presented to soldiers.

References

↑ "Cast". Tracker. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
↑ "Crew". Tracker. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
↑ Roxburgh, Tracey (21 November 2009). "Filming of 'epic' NZ story under way". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 23 November 2011.
↑ "Cinemas". Tracker. Retrieved 28 August 2011.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Cast". Tracker. Retrieved 28 August 2011.

[2] "Crew". Tracker. Retrieved 28 August 2011.

[ODT_82893-3] Roxburgh, Tracey (21 November 2009). "Filming of 'epic' NZ story under way". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 23 November 2011.

[4] "Cinemas". Tracker. Retrieved 28 August 2011.