6. Being In Tune With Nature
The Hunter also has within it the classic premise of man versus nature, as well as the idea of the noble savage. Martin is both of these. He is hunting a thylacine and is very comfortable with the outdoors, a Great White Hunter who truly appreciates both the needs of civilization and nature. He is both tough and sensitive, much more overtly sensitive and caring than he is in the novel or has any right to be in the movie. Martin blends seamlessly into the natural surroundings, always listening, watching, smelling, tasting, and touching. These elements sometimes combine into an almost sixth sense, but he still needs more than that to navigate. His equipment is all cutting edge. Yet Martin is an employee. He gets no peace, pleasure, or profit from what he is doingthose luxuries are reserved for his employer. His communion with nature and his passion for the hunt are on the clock. At first, Martin seems very much at home while on the job, and he is shown to be a loner, but the more time he spends with Lucy, Sass, and Bike, the more willpower it takes for him to return to his solitude. The more time Martin spends searching for the tiger, the more he seems to think outside of his standard tasks, about the people he is away from. The closer he gets to the tiger and to the safety of the natural world, the more obstacles he facescameras, resistant terrain, other eyes, and himself. Nature doesnt want to be discovered or changed, is bigger than us all, and will defend itself to a point. And since Martin is a person first no matter how much he has been suppressed, time in his profession has allowed his own desires come into conflict with his quest. He cares about completing his quest to the best of his ability, but not about the quest itself. These elements are all conventions too, from Moby Dick to Looney Tunes to Star Wars, but support a unique element that is crucial to the films overall message. The hunt and the nobility of knowing nature are not just there to up the stakes, but with the films steady pace, cool colors, and piano and strings evoking fundamental childhood feelings, it reminds the viewer of the backdrop all this is playing against. The world is cold. What is there to gain? Martins rudimentary longing plays very striking to that. If Martin falls in the woods, does he make a sound?