Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Phillip Noyce

Writers:

Doris Pilkington (book)
Christine Olsen (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 February 2002 (Australia)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History

Tagline:

If you were kidnapped by the government, would you walk the 1500 miles back home?

Plot:

In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a trek across the Outback.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Australia | Fence | Journey | Aborigine

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 21 wins & 24 nominations

Cast

Everlyn Sampi	...	Molly Craig
Tianna Sansbury	...	Daisy Kadibill
Laura Monaghan	...	Gracie Fields
David Gulpilil	...	Moodoo
Ningali Lawford	...	Maud
Myarn Lawford	...	Molly's Grandmother
Deborah Mailman	...	Mavis
Jason Clarke	...	Constable Riggs
Kenneth Branagh	...	A.O. Neville
Natasha Wanganeen	...	Nina, Dormitory Boss
Garry McDonald	...	Mr. Neal at Moore River
Roy Billing	...	Police Inspector
Lorna Leslie	...	Miss Thomas
Celine O'Leary	...	Miss Jessop
Kate Roberts	...	Matron at Moore River

MPAA:

Rated PG for emotional thematic material.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

Aboriginal | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/12 | South Africa:13V (theatrical rating) | South Africa:PG (DVD rating) | USA:TV-PG (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #38838)

Filming Locations:

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Commission, The

Trivia:

Everlyn Sampi, (Molly Craig), ran away twice during filming. In one instance, she was found in a phone booth, trying to buy tickets back to Broome.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Moodoo is first seen riding north along the Rabbit-Proof Fence to meet a police constable he's on the west of the fence. Shortly before the actual meeting he's on the east side of the fence.

Quotes:

[First lines]
Title Cards: Western Australia 1931
Title Cards: For 100 years the Aboriginal Peoples have resisted the invasion of their lands by white settlers.
Title Cards: Now, a special law, the Aborigines Act, controls their lives in every detail.
Title Cards: Mr. A. O. Neville, the Chief Protector of Aborigines, is the legal guardian of every Aborigine in the State of Western Australia.
Title Cards: He has the power "to remove any half-caste child" from their family, from anywhere within the state.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gulpilil: One Red Blood (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

All Things Bright and Beautiful

What a pleasure it was to see Philip Noyce use his visual storytelling skills on a humane story.

This powerful film follows the journey of three young aboriginal girls who are taken from their family and forced to assimilate into an empty culture by the white settlers of Australia. This is known as the "STOLEN GENERATION", a dark period in Australian history which the current prime minister of Australia refuses to say sorry for the past atrocities. But this is not to say that this film preaches or manipulates emotions for political gain. No! It just tells the story with powerful images that allows the viewer to enter the torment of the stolen generation. Dialogue is minimal as our heroes are taken from their family and driven to the other side of Australia. But their will and instinct to be with their strong culture has the girls escape the camp prison and follow the rabbit-proof fence back home. The rabbit proof fence was built down the centre of Australia to contain the plague of rabbits from entering farm land. It was this white-man built fence that lead the girls back home.

As for all journeys, they are filled with internal conflict and confrontations with strangers. These confrontations with certain people show the diverse group of settlers in Australia. Not all were ignorant but most were repressed and abided to the harsh cultured laws. For instance, the girls arrive at a farmstead and are given clothing and food by a white woman. The motherly instinct of this woman understood that the girls had to be with their mothers. But at the same token the farm woman could not jeopardise her own family by looking after the girls or else it would have brought trouble. It was wonderful scenes like these that was played out visually without having to dumb it down with words. As human beings we understand these actions and need no explaining.

The most interesting relationship was the one between the aboriginal tracker in search of the girls. He could sense the persistence of these girls to get home by making it difficult for him to track them down. This he respected and slightly dropped his guard. Once again, a string of images tell of this distant relationship between tracker and girls.

The images also became so strong during the scene when the girls were taken from their mothers in a horrific manner. I doubt there will be a dry eye during that scene. This hooks you in as you then become the spirit of their journey back home.

Only by the performances of the girls do these scenes work because they are so natural and heartfelt. Children who overplay their role just become cute but those who underplay and rely on emotions of the situation deliver a powerhouse performance that a trained actor may sometimes find difficult to achieve. At first the name of a high calibre actor - such as Kenneth Branagh - in an Australian film warns you where the limelight will shine. But Kenneth just took a step back and become another important confrontational figure in the journey.

A bonus is the music by Peter Gabriel. It is a mixture of his famous trademark of world music infused with that of the Aboriginal. It soars and plays with the emotions, maybe a little too much but when you are dealing with a thousand year old culture that has music as its central universe, then you may be able to understand that the overpowerful music is just an extension of that.

Congratulations to all who were brave enough to bring a project of this strength to the screen. And for those who may wonder how I saw the film prior to its release, lets just say I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. And No! I'm not tied to the project in any way because I don't sell out that easily.