Leave No Trace  ★★★½

IT’S a long shot, but Leave No Trace might be the small, independent film that makes it to the 2019 Oscars.

Whether it’s a single nomination for acting, direction, cinematography or writing, it will be appropriate recognition of this quiet, human drama.

Based on a 2009 novel, My Abandonment, by Peter Rock, Leave No Trace speaks to the human condition in recounting the story of a man and his daughter who are not allowed to live on their own terms.

Will is a war veteran, traumatized to the degree that he has given up on a traditional future amidst the rest of the urban population.

He has taken his young daughter, Tomas, and chosen to live a subsistence-based existence camping in a large forest on the outskirts of the city of Portland in Oregon.

When we meet the pair, Tomas is 13 and they have probably been living ‘off the grid’ for at least six or seven years.

They survive largely off the land but replenishtheir  staple supplies every now and then with the money gained from selling Will’s medication that he receives during appointments at the Veterans’ Hospital.

Will has home-schooled Tomas to the extent that she is ahead of most children her age. They are completely at ease with each other and their surroundings.

The only threat is posed by the occasional encroachment of forest workers, rangers or hikers. One of these occasions is reported to the local police and they arrive with the intention of shutting down their camp.

Will and Tomas are torn from the forest and made to re-assimilate with the modern world by people who are either driven by good intentions, uniformed suspicions or unthinking bureaucracy.

The impact is profound, not only on Will’s mental state but on the bond between father and daughter.

Director Debra Granik, who gave us the highly-rated Winter’s Bone in 2010, and her writer Anne Rosellini, create a fine balance of visuals and dialogue to depict the core relationship, their interaction with nature and the impact of modern society’s expectations and requirements.

The story would not succeed without the relationship being completely believable and that is exactly what Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie deliver.

Foster has had a good recent run with The Program, Hell or High Water, Hostiles and now this film demonstrating the depth and range of his acting ability while 18-year-old New Zealander Thomasin is completely natural in her quiet, assured feature debut. Many of their scenes are deeply moving.

If you are looking for a quiet, reflective, emotional experience, this isa film that might hang around in your memory.