Tracks

In 1977 Robyn Davidson became famous by making the 1,700-mile trek from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean, accompanied by four camels and a dog. Why she did it was a complex matter, fuelled partly by instincts inherited from her naturalist father, but the beauty of director John Curran's striking film is that it never seeks to explain, treating the event more as a calling than a road trip. Key to its success is a star turn from Mia Wasikowska, the pretty blonde star of so many costume dramas (Jane Eyre, Albert Nobbs) - and a ringer for the real Robyn - who dives fearlessly into the desert dirt. Since we know Davidson made it, this isn't a survival thriller but an episodic journey of self-discovery, documented at various points by a photographer from National Geographic magazine (Adam Driver). Obviously, it can't match the epic nature of the original mission, but Curran brings us as close as we're ever likely to get, contrasting the sweeping majesty of vast swathes of Australia with fleeting insights into Davidson's inner mind; a hippie chick in her late 20s, determined to do something profound, poetic and possibly even magical with her life.