Rabbit-Proof Fence

Rabbit Proof Fence Documentary - forced removal scene


I checked out this 2002 movie, "Rabbit-Proof Fence" , last night on DVD. A simple story, but sweeping in its emotional grandeur, as three Aboriginal girls, kidnapped as part of official Australian government policy, escape the school to which they had been brought, and return home (1,500 miles on foot) along the Rabbit-Proof Fence, their only guide through the desolate Australian Outback.

The DVD also featured commentary, and a documentary describing Director Peter Noyce's efforts to locate suitable child actresses to play the three girls. The requirements were daunting: with only recent exposure to non-Aboriginal ways, the girls had to be natural actresses, but emotionally mature despite extreme youth. Wonderful choices!

Noyce, an Australian director known mostly for his American spy thrillers, also displayed a laudable discipline, even a severity, that suited the material and the country well.

The recent interest shown by Australians in what are now known as The Stolen Generations is a welcome contrast to the silence of Americans with the nearly-simultaneous, nearly-identical situation in the American West: the Indian boarding schools of the Navajo and Hopi (and probably others as well: the Apache and the Sioux, and others). There are many untold or poorly-heard stories out there - stories of separation, forgetfulness, and loss - and sometimes stories of return as well.

Imdb has some interesting commentary from movie-watchers too:

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.

...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.

...

This film has quite a few remarkable features. First of all is its title which is rather unusual and immediately grabs one's interest. Next there is the fence itself which runs for thousands of miles to protect what few green plants there are in these desert regions from the voracious appetites of millions of wild rabbits. This fence plays an important role in this true story. Then there is the diector who not only scoured the continent to find three suitable aboriginal girls to play the leads but moulded these inexperienced beginners into the believable characters of Molly, Daisy and Gracie. The director Phillip Noyce has achieved remarkable success in creating three good little performers and should be given full credit for his difficult task.

For those who do not know the desert regions of Australia, it must be said that the "outback" country is harsh and cruel and can only be crossed by those with experience...those with a knowledge of the land. I think the camera makes it clear that the hostile environment is very much like a fence in itself...almost impossible to cross. All the more remarkable therefore that these girls accomplished what they set out to do. May be it was a reckless decision they made but thanks to the fence they found their way back to family and friends.

...

The production and direction are excellent. Noyce has created a beautiful vision of the Australian Outback that really feeds the film. However the sound is also superb. Rhythmic footsteps ring out, crunching and banging of the landscape – it works best in a cinema I guess but it adds to the dramatic feel of the film, even if some sudden noises caused me to jump without any reason in the scene to do so.

The cast are mixed but are important where it matters. Sampi is amazing as Molly. She carries the film with her strength but also little facial expressions that reveal that she is a child, reveal her strength and tell so very much. Both Sansbury and Monaghan also do well but not as well as the lead. Branagh is also perfectly pitched. Neville could easily have been overplayed as a hammy villain of the piece but here he is played just right – he is a real man and we are left to decide for ourselves what to make of him. Some of the cast are average – some of the children in the camp can't act and the majority of the white police officers are maybe a shade too much caricatured as evil men who dislike the blacks.