Rabbit-Proof Fence
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Movie Reviews of Rabbit-Proof Fence
Movie Review: A heartbreaking and inspirational story about the Aborigines
Summary: 5 Stars
I was aware that the treatment of the Aborigines by those that settled Australia was fairly consistent with that of all European settlers dealing with indigenous people when "colonizing" someone else's land. I specifically recall how during the 2000 Sydney Olympics much was made of the symbolism of Cathy Freeman, an Aborigine on the Australian Olympic team, lighting the Olympic torch. Even more was made of the symbolism when Freeman went on to win the gold medal in the 400 meter. But I have to admit that when it comes to Australian films I tend to think in terms of "Breaker Morant" and "Gallipoli," where the point was how the British Empire was treating the Australian citizens of the Commonwealth as if nothing had changed since the first convicts were sent from Britain Down Under. Still, to see Australians turn around and treat others even more inhumanely was rather something of a shock."Rabbit-Proof Fence" is the story of three young Aborigine girls who escaped from a government camp in 1931 and tried to walk home 1,500 miles. Molly (Everlyn Sampi), her sister Daisy (Tianna Sansbury) and cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan) were taken from their mothers because they are half-castes, their white fathers long gone after constructing the rabbit-proof fence which saves Australia's farm land from being devoured. The fence, of course, is both a metaphor for the separation of the children from their families as well as the touchstone that can help the girls get home.
The reason the girls are removed is because of the edict of A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), who was the administrator in charge of Aborigines in Western Australia. As portrayed in the film Neville is concerned about the creation of a third race and has the idea that with the proper breeding within three generations the half-castes will look white. Now there is conflicting historical evidence on how Aborigine children ended up at the Moore River Native Settlement pertaining to half-castes being ostracized by pure bloods and Aborigine parents wanted their children to receive an education. But in "Rabbit-Proof Fence" the reasons are clearly to "save" these children from themselves, and there is an implication the education is so these children can be domestic servants for white families.
Even if you did not see Branagh in "Conspiracy," the TV movie where he played SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the Reich Main Security Office, and chief architect of the "Final Solution" at the Wannsee Conference the parallels are unmistakable between Neville's theory of eugenics and the Nazis. But once Molly leads the other two girls into the outback Neville is not as important to the chase as Modoo (David Gulpilil), the native tracker who is required to enforce the policies that are resulting in "The Lost Generation" of his people. If this is a film that wants to see the world only in terms of black or white, there is no doubt which side wins your sympathy.
Having made big budget Hollywood films like "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger" and "The Bone Collector," director Phillip Noyes provides a more intimate film like he did back in 1977 with "Backroads." His three stars are a trio of first time actresses, selected (as he explains in the accompanying featurette) so that everybody in the world who say them would want to adopt them. But they also turn out to act and Sampi as Molly Craig is at least as good as Keisha Castle-Hughes was in "Whale Rider."
This is a true story and as such you know not to expect a happy ending, but that does not stop your from harboring such hopes as the three girls continue on their journey and the authorities try to stop them before they reach their home and their families. As a true story there will be the obligatory title cards at the end telling you the rest of the story and explaining how the practice of separating half-castes from their parents continued until 1970, which may well be a more depressing thought than anything engendered by the film. But be forewarned that the most devastating scene on the DVD is not in the film when the girls are taken away from their wailing mothers, but in the featurette when we see what happens to the cast and crew after they finish filming that scene.
Special note needs to be made of the commentary track provided by director Phillip Noyce and featuring musician Peter Gabriel, actor Kenneth Branagh, screenwriter Chiristine Olsen and author Pilkington Garimara. This is not a track where everybody is in the room at once talking about the film. Instead this is mostly Noyce talking about the film, totally independent of what is on the screen, and when he talks about one of the other principles we get to hear their thoughts on the process of turning the original book and the story it was based on into this film. This is usually the sort of deep thoughts you get from a film critic doing the commentary on a Criterion Edition of a classic film, so finding it on this 2002 drama is a nice bonus.
Movie Review: Aboriginal culture as alternative
Summary: 5 Stars
The book is a straightforward telling of the story of the 3 girls walk, almost 2000 KM in about 9 weeks, eluding the police and obtaining food. Interestingly it starts with the first European's landing on the shores and the ancestors of the girls reactions. The reviews at amazon give a sufficient outline of the movie and i don't feel the need to repeat the details here.What i would like to discuss is the clash of cultures that underlies and animates the movie. The key scene in the policeman holding up the paper and removing the children from their mother's loving arms, to be placed in a heartless, cruel, impersonal, prison. Western culture several hundred years ago became structured, institutionalized, bureaucratic, impersonal. The aboriginal culture, for at least 60thousand years has remained close to the foundations of humanity: hunter-gatherers, minimal technology, minimal possessions. The words of the superintendent: "Just because they use Neolithic tools doesn't mean that they have Neolithic brains." is the key element in this 'clash of cultures'. The conquest of Australia, like the destruction of native cultures in the Pacific and the Americas was done via germs and guns, (to partly quote an excellent book on the topic). It was the difference in the tools, in the things of these two different cultures that doomed the Aboriginals to the destruction of their long held way of life, not the ideas, not the humanity(or lack of it) of either group. And this is, to me, one of the paradoxes of the movie. The motivations of the institutionalizers was clearly not evil as much as wrongly directed. Yet the obvious evil that emerged from it must be explained not only as a result of massive impersonal institutions creating their own inertia, but in the deflection of human personalities, of human feelings in those institutions towards the goals of those institutions. Simply put, our tools shape their own results, despite our personal feelings or conscious intentions. That is even before the observation that people assume the fascade of their organizations, even before we realize that people are shaped and controlled by their institutions and their tools.
So it is a story that starkly illustrates the collision of cultures in the type of tools each has purchased with the souls of the people inside. For despite the intentions and outspoken feelings of the white people involved they continued the brutal suppression and destruction of the Aboriginal culture and people through the heart-wrenching tearing away of their next generation. The movie and the book are on a very personal level, just one old lady relating what happened to her so many years ago, to us her audience. Yet even in this personal level the tools intervene, for the way home, the bread crumbs, the yellow brick road was the rabbit proof fence.
European culture introduced the rabbits to Australia, to the extraordinary destruction of the native habitat and unique animals that exist there. All to create more rabbits at the destruction of the kangaroos, analogous to the western peoples invasion which substituted white human bodies for black. The rabbit proof fence was a typical western ideological tool to try to fix what never should have happened. More technology chasing the problems of more stupid decisions, round and round until the destructiveness of the whole package is obvious to even the meanest minded colonist. The fence never worked, the rabbits got through, technology failed, again. But the fence became a very specific thing in the minds of the Aboriginals, it was the way to come out of the wilderness where they lived their ancestrial ways and became the hangers-on of the white tool based culture. For the fence was the boundary between white and Aboriginal, between the hunter gatherer and the stationary monthly ration outback ranch way of life. And to the girls it was the way home.
The movie, like the destruction of native cultures, is full of paradoxes like these. The powerlessness of young girls arraided against the full brute force of the police and their legal papers, the fact that they are 'half-caste' who grew up hated by the full aboriginal kids, then torn from that by their father's culture who only wanted to turn them into domestic slaves. We cheer for the girls, we distaint the Aboriginal tracker who deserts his own people for the service of the conquerers, we cry with the mothers as they strike their heads with rocks to mourn their children's kidnapping. But we might miss the big picture if we look at them as the only victims of the system, for the huge imposing edifice of Western police, military, courts, governments is just the iceberg-like tip of a culture that imposed tools between people, which dehumanizes and manipulates its inhabitants into believing that theirs is the best of all possible ways of living. This is the big picture, the Aboriginal way of life, the culture as a testimony that humanity has not always lived this way, that it is not necessarily the only way to express our common humanity, that there were alternatives in the recent past. Before the machine destroyed them all.
Movie Review: '...FOR THEIR OWN GOOD...'
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Phillip Noyce, who has several notably successful films - both `artistically' and `commercially' - to his credit, has given viewers something very special indeed in this effort. RABBIT-PROOF FENCE is moving and absorbing, and goes a long way in illustrating to the world the injustices that have been done to indigenous peoples - NOT just the Aborigines in Australia - in the name of `doing what is best for them'. In attempting to impose what they think is best, colonizers from time immemorial have shattered and destroyed millions of families and lives - their arrogance has trampled on the souls of so many. Facing up to this is the first step in righting wrongs, and - hopefully - in preventing their recurrence. A novel I read recently - FUGITIVE PIECES, by Anne Michaels - summed it up nicely: `History is the poisoned well, seeping into the groundwater. It is not the unknown past we're doomed to repeat, but the past we know.' In other words - learning about the mistakes of the past is all well and good, but if we don't learn FROM these mistakes, we have accomplished nothing.This film is based on a book that chronicles the true story of three young girls on a perilous and courageous journey across 1500 miles of Outback terrain - terrain that is unforgiving as only that in Australia can be. Ripped from their families by `well-meaning' government policies designed to civilize and train `half-caste' children (children born of mixed blood) and assimilate them back into white society, `breeding out the Black' over the course of 2-3 generations, the girls (ranging in age from 7 to 14) are traumatized beyond belief. The strength and heart they show is moving and inspiring - if children can rise up and stand against the odds thrown against these three, we can accomplish anything. The children who were thus `removed to government care' came to be known as `the stolen generations'.
Noyce was moved by the story itself - in the form of a screenplay presented to him - to make this film. With successes in the past with such works as THE QUIET AMERICAN, THE BONE COLLECTOR, and two Harrison Ford box-office smashes, PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, he had the reputation to make this film happen - and it's a treasure. I'll agree wholeheartedly with another reviewer below - the accompanying documentary on the making of the film, in which we can see the process used to find the three children to portray the main roles (the girls chosen had never acted before) is fascinating. One part of the documentary shows the filming of the scene in which the girls are taken by government agents, literally torn from their mothers' arms - even knowing it was `only a scene in a film', when it was over there were tears in the eyes of not just the actors, but the director and film crew as well. This is VERY moving subject matter - and it translates to the screen incredibly well, without ever lapsing into maudlin sentimentality.
Aside from the three girls (Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury and Laura Monaghan), everyone else in the cast does a nice job as well. Kenneth Branagh does a fine, understated turn as A.O.Neville, the government official charged with `protecting' the Aboriginal peoples in his region. Notable also is the well-known Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil - veteran of such classics as Peter Weir' THE LAST WAVE and Nicolas Roeg's WALKABOUT). His presence is electrifying, as always - his portrayal of Moodoo the Tracker is successful on many levels, allowing him to illustrate how hard it was for an Aborigine to be `in the service' of the white man's government. Moodoo's own daughter is a pupil at the government-run school where the three girls have been placed - so, while his loyalties to the government lead him to track the runaways, he is able to feel sympathy for their plight at the same time, admiring their skills and (I suspect) secretly hoping that they will elude him.
With all of these components adding up to a fine piece of filmmaking, I can't neglect to mention the amazing soundtrack music, composed and performed by Peter Gabriel. He has taken the story into his heart and provided the viewer with nothing less than the spirit of the girls, their ordeal, story and courage, in musical form. Incorporating many elements of Aboriginal music into his work makes it more powerful still - it's an important element that makes an outstanding contribution to the overall effect of the film.
There is violence in this film - both overt and psychological - but it is a violence that is an intrinsic part of the story. There is no nudity that I remember - if it was present, it was so much a part of the lives depicted that it flowed naturally into the scheme of things. There is only a hint of sexuality. How in the world can a film be successful without sex, nudity, senseless violence, foul language and drugs? This one does it - by taking a moving story (never forget: taken from life) and painting it carefully, honestly and with great feeling onto the screen. This is a film that should be seen by everyone - don't be afraid to view it with your entire family.
Movie Review: Beautiful story of hardship, courage, love, and perseverance.
Summary: 5 Stars
This has definitely been one of the most moving and inspirational films I've watched recently. Between 1900 and 1970, at least 100,000 Aboriginal children of mixed blood - called "half caste" - were taken from their families by the Australian government. Some were surrendered with their parents' consent, but many were forcibly removed. They have been referred to as the Stolen Generations. These children were placed in government or church-run schools in an attempt to assimilate them into white culture. The living conditions in these institutions were generally poor. The children were also discouraged from speaking their own languages, and also from marrying full-blood Aboriginals, the belief being that if they intermarried with whites instead, all Aboriginal traits could be "bred out" within four generations. It was common for children to attempt escape from these facilities, but most never made it far before being recaptured. This story, however, is different.
The film "Rabbit-Proof Fence," based on the book "Molly's Daughter" by Doris Pilkington (which is in turn based on the true story of her own mother), follows three girls in the 1930's - two of them sisters and the third a cousin - who are taken from their family as described above. They are placed in the Moore River Camp, almost 2000 kilometers from their home. It is not long before the eldest girl, Molly, decides that they must escape and return to their family. Molly (14 years old), Gracie (10 years), and Daisy (8 years) soon find their way to the rabbit-proof fence of the title, a structure bisecting the entire continent with the aim of keeping rabbits on one side and good farmland on the other. Knowing that their village lies along the fence, they set out on an arduous nine-week journey to follow it home, all the while tracked by those that want them recaptured.
This is an amazing film in so many ways. The casting all around is brilliant, but the three girls who play Molly, Gracie, and Daisy are particularly remarkable. None of them had any previous acting experience, but their performances are completely natural, neither underacted nor over-the-top. Most amazing of all is Everlyn Sampi (actually 12, though her charatcer is 14) as Molly, and Tianna Sansbury as young Daisy is also incredibly talented for a 7-year-old. I hope both of them choose to go on to work in other movies, because they truly have a rare natural talent. The rest of the cast is also superb, with the notable Kenneth Branagh taking a key role as A.O. Neville, official "Protector of the Aborigines" in Western Australia.
The cinematography and soundtrack are also quite perfect. One really gets a feel for how beautiful, and how rugged and forbidding, the Western Australian desert country can be. For anyone to have made a 1,500-mile journey across it on foot is remarkable, and for this to have been accomplished by such young children is truly inspirational. The film also shows the complicated interplay of race relations quite well. It is not a clear-cut black-and-white issue (and clearly the protagonists are neither fully Aboriginal, nor fully white themselves). There are of course characters firmly planted on one side or the other, but there are also many stuck in the middle, such as the Aboriginal man employed as a tracker to recover the runaways, or the half-caste laundry woman - herself a former ward of the Moore River Camp - who attempts to help them along the way. These characters hightlight the turmoil of being stuck between two worlds. It should also be noted that not all white people in the film are portrayed as villains, as we see the girls aided by sympathetic non-Aborginals as well.
The DVD offers only two special features - commentary with the director, screenwriter, author, and Kenneth Branagh, as well as a documentary on the making of the film - but the documentary, "Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence" is well worth watching. I was touched to see how intent director Phillip Noyce was on getting the movie just right, so that it would resonate with both the descendants of those included in the Stolen Generations, and with a white Australian audience. The lengths he went to in order to find just the right three girls to play Molly, Gracie, and Daisy - flying to numerous remote towns to interview hundreds of children - are also impressive. Even more touching is to see just how much the young actors put into the film. In one shot we see the entire cast and crew reduced to tears after filming the abduction scene at the beginning of the movie. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this film to any viewer, and plan to add it to my own collection as well.
Movie Review: Interesting film, fascinating extra
Summary: 5 Stars
An affecting, deeply heartfelt film. If you're reading this, you probably guessed that already.
Here's something you might not guess from a quick glance at the DVD cover, though - or closer scrutiny, for that matter: a terrific behind-the-scenes documentary.
Rabbit-Proof Fence has a lot going for it - a richly compelling story, a sensational musical score by Peter Gabriel (in the vein of his Passion music from Last Temptation of Christ), a well-known director with a sure hand and a keen eye for detail, etc., etc.
When all is said and done, though, it all comes down to the kids' performances. One false note there, and the whole movie risks collapse.
I'm not a fan of DVD extras as a rule - I'm of the school that believes the thing should speak for itself. Also, you and I can pick any number of DVDs that advertised fanta-bulous extras, only to deliver pallid 7-minute "documentaries" and thinly disguised commercial ads for the movie itself - ie. "making-of" featurettes that are actually thinly disguised theatrical trailers.
Well, the documentary on this DVD is a stunner - almost reason alone to buy the disc.
The 42-minute documentary - almost half the length of the feature itself - focuses on Phillip Noyce's casting, vetting and eventual direction of the three kids in question.
Other reviewers have commented here about how striking 11-year-old Evelyn Sampi was in the pivotal role. What's remarkable about the documentary on this DVD is that you get to see exactly what was involved in bringing her out of her shell. It's a candid, affecting, honest portrayal, and Noyce comes across as a deeply humane, empathetic person, about as far removed from the cliche of the Hollywood tyrant as you can get. Sampi, for her part, is clearly special - though, watching this, it's easy to worry about where she may go from here.
There's a telling moment in the documentary when Noyce, trying to life her spirits at a magazine photo shoot, says, "You're going to be like Nicole Kidman" (Noyce directed Kidman in her break-through role in Dead Calm, you may recall) and Sampi fires back, without missing a beat: "Cathy Freeman." (Cathy Freeman, as you may know, is Australia's world record holder and Olympic champion middle-distance runner, and a hero to her fellow aborigines.) The documentary also gives credit to the kids' acting coach, a trained aborigine actor and acting teacher, and it not only tells you about her but shows her working with the kids.
And let's hear it, too, for Kenneth Branagh, who was brave enough to play a real prick, without once trying to soften the edges. (One minor complaint: This is not Branagh's film; I suspect even he is embarassed to see his face dominate the DVD and movie poster's cover so much. There's a stunning image on the DVD menu of Sampi, braced against the wind, holding one of her younger siblings in her arms, the wind and dust playing across their faces: That would have made a much more striking cover. Oh, well, you know what they say: never judge a DVD by its cover. And never judge a movie by its poster.)
I thoroughly enjoyed Rabbit-Proof Fence.
I dreaded it at first, thinking it was going to be yet another one of those swallow-your-medicine TV movies-of -the-week. You know the ones: the ones with colons in their titles, that make you feel crummy just for being alive. But Noyce's humanity, his eye for human expressions and the deeply moving performances from the kids - all the kids - won me over.
The documentary is what makes this DVD special, though. (A minor caveat: the documentary, long as it is, focuses exclusively on the shaping of the kids' performances, so if you're looking for other background on the making of the film, or a documentary about the historical context in which the events unfolded, you won't find it here.)
If you appreciated this film as much as I did, do seriously consider getting this DVD. It doesn't have any of those fancy "special edition" or "director's cut" labels emblazoned on it, and the cover isn't really reperesentative of the movie inside, but it's special just the same.