Rabbit-Proof Fence
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Movie Reviews of Rabbit-Proof Fence
Movie Review: A movingly told story of real life heroes
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a marvelously successful movie that is especially moving because the story it tells is true. RABBIT-PROOF FENCE is the story of how Australia for several decades took half-caste aboriginal children (i.e., children of mixed white and aboriginal parentage) and raised them in what was essentially an orphanage school to become domestic servants. The film focuses on three girls--Molly, Daisy, and Gracie--who live beside one of Australia's rabbit-proof fences that cover the country and are taken from their mother to live at the school. The bulk of the movie tells of their escape and 1300 mile journey following the rabbit-proof fence back to their mother.Three things stand out about this movie. First, the simplicity of the story. This is a movie that has easily identifiable good and bad guys. The policy the government embarked on for several decades was obviously and irredeemably racist and evil, and in part made more tragic by not being widely reported. I know a couple of Australians living here in Chicago, and both say they had never heard of this practice while growing up. This film does an enormous service to humankind by publicizing this great crime.
Second, the performances by the three girls in the central roles are marvelous. In particular, Everylyn Sampi, as Molly, the oldest of the three girls, stands out. What is remarkable is the three girls were utter amateurs, with no acting experience at all. Sampi manages to imbue her Molly with both great intelligence and iron-willed determination.
Third, the film is both a visual and aural delight. I have over the years seen a lot of films shot in Australia, most of them much further east than this one. Most of it occurs in areas of Australia that are less familiar. I saw this film in a theater with five-point sound, and I have rarely seen a film that made better use of that than this one.
This is one of those films that no fan of film should miss. It tells a magnificent and true story well. One of the most moving moments is when two of the real life girls, now elderly women, are shown. Just a great movie.
Movie Review: It Will Make You Laugh And Make You Cry
Summary: 5 Stars
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a wonderful film which the world's largest audience, America, has yet to see. Directed by Phillip Noyce of Bone Collector fame, it follows two sisters; Molly and Daisy and their cousin Gracie. Born half-caste children in the 1930's (white fathers with Aboriginal mothers), their fathers have had a quick bit of fun while building a rabbit-proof fence then long since moved on. The fence stretches from one side of Australia to the other. As a law, half-caste children come under rule of a man named Mr A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh). He orders the three young girls to be taken from their mothers and placed in a 'concentration camp' like place over 1500 miles from home. Any girl who tries to escape will be tracked down by a man named Moodoo who will have her punished. The three girls manage to escape into the vast untouched land on a trek back home, covering their tracks on the way. Always one step ahead of Moodoo, they come across the occasional people on their farms. Not knowing who to trust they must take risks. The girls realise that the only way to get back home is to follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.I was lucky enough to go to one of the New Zealand Premieres. After recognising the talanted Christine Olsen (Screenwriter/Producer) from the television and newspapers I decided to approach her. What a wonderful woman she was. We talked about all different things for about 15 - 20 minutes and would have continued if only she didn't have to introduce the film. She grabbed the only Press Kit they had there and personally signed it to me which was a real delight. The movie turned out to be brilliant. The screenplay was amazing and the silence said about as much as the words. The young barely trained actresses playing the girls did a magnificent job. Well directed and a must-see for anyone and everyone. It will make you laugh and make you cry but the thing to remember is that it is based on a truely terrible story of Australia's history. >Enjoy<
Movie Review: HEARTBREAKING BUT NECESARRY
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie broke my heart!!!! It is about 3 little aboriginal girls who are literally STOLEN from their mother & family & sent to live in a crappy, abusive "orphange". And the whole thing was LEGAL!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THIS WAS ALLOWED TO GO ON FOR SO LONG! At the end of this movie it says that this practice (that of kidnapping what they refer to as "half-caste" children from their families who love them and placing them into cold, strict & uncaring "orphanages") was practied right up until 1970!!!!!!!! WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE OVER THIS???????? HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO HAPPEN????? I AM SO APPALLED & DISGUSTED BY THIS!!!!!! Well back to the movie...You really can't help but love these precious little girls as they are ripped from ths only home they have ever known & taken away against their and their families wishes. Well the 3 girls do manage to make a break from the orphanage and begin their journey back home. AND A VERY LONG AND DIFFICULT JOURNEY IT IS! But bless their little hearts they never give up!! The ending for me was bittersweet. I was glad that 2 of ths girls made it back & were reunited with their family. But the 3rd girl did not make it back home. That was sad. And there was future troubles for this family as well. All I can say is that these girls were HEROES FOR MAKING THAT JOURNEY & I AM SO GLAD THAT THIS FILM WAS MADE. EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS FILM! It will really make you apprecaite the freedoms that you have. I highly reccomend this film to EVERYONE!!! But!, BE PREPARED to be sad & disgusted. (Just a fair warning to you.) ANYWAY!, GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!! & THANK YOU GOD! for the freedoms that so many of us have & take for granted! EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE FREE FROM OPPRESION & ABUSE!!!!!! I IMPLORE YOU ALL TO WATCH THIS MOVIE AND TO WRITE A REVIEW OF YOUR REACTION TO IT!!!! Let's give these brave but oppressed people the recogniton & RESPECT!!!!! that they so deeply deserve. AND THANK YOU!!!!! MRS. LINDA KAY PAFF. (wantsjustice4all)Movie Review: Certainly Amongst the Best Films Yet from this Decade
Summary: 5 Stars
I could not agree less with the previous reviewer's opinion of this film... Rabbit-Proof Fence is the certainly the best Australian film I have ever seen and one of the finest films yet from this young decade. Why? It's story is real, poignant, and thoroughly entertaining; I never once looked at the clock. And its heart-tugging without being sappy or overly politically correct; like the Quebecois film "Robe Noir", one sees that neither side is completely in the right (unless you think its OK to sleep in the dirt, eat lizards, and have no formal education). The film is visually stunning with brilliant colors and superb wide screen cinematography. And the acting, in my humble opinion, puts this film over the top. Kenneth Brannaugh redeems his downwardly spiraling career with a performance that will some day be held up just underneath his Henry V as his most compelling role. But even more importantly, Everlyn Sampi's quiet but powerful performance should someday be held up with Maria Falconetti's Jeanne d'Arc as one of the most memorable events in the history of film. She was stunning. David Gulpilil's role as the tracker was also great. It gave that "uuuuuuu" scary feel that I remember from reading Mark Twain novels as a kid. All of this makes for a great family-film introduction to serious topics.I thought the DVD image and the "making of" extra documentary were thoroughly entertaining. I was also fascinated with how beautiful all those young Aboriginal children were. In all my life I have never scene an attractive Aboriginal person on TV or film, and here I see that there are bounds of them. This film was largely ignored by the US market and awards, but that means little. A look at the long list of best-picture winning Oscars shows a long line of mostly forgotten and unimportant films. Time will tell if Rabbit-Proof Fence becomes a great classic, but my overwhelming inclination is that it will indeed.
Movie Review: It's power lies in its beautifully constructed images
Summary: 5 Stars
In a time where movie producers are continuously trying to one-up each other with bigger-and-badder CGI spectacles, watching a film like this is refreshing. Completely stripped of pretension, prettiness, and unneccasary dribble, it is a story that speaks directly to the heart. Director Phillip Noyce (The Quiet American) and D.P. Christopher Doyle give us a vast and seemingly endless Australian desert landscape. In tune with the wonderfully placid score by Peter Gabriel, the results are hypnotic and compelling. There are stretches where very few lines of dialogue are spoken. The camera simply places these three young girls in the harshest reaches of the desert terrain, and we understand, if only slightly, what the real experience must have been like.
The film tells a simple story of what it means to feel secure as a child and be with family. It also explores the effects of an age old racial stereotype that was then policy of the Australian government; Blacks must integrate and adjust to white society. And worse, Blacks are not able to raise their own children. It works because it does not trap itself inside a fixed and conventional narrative. Noyce explores his themes well, without throwing them in our faces as so many films regrettably do. We as the viewers are immersed into the journey across 1,500 miles of unforgiving desert, as the young girls try to outmaneuver the men sent to recapture them.
This is a beautiful film in its ability to captivate and move us in unexpected ways. The last few shots show us the two surviving sisters, now old and weak, and we hear Molly in voice-over tell us how their family is still being ruined by racial prejudice. We sympathize with them, of course. But we notice they are smiling, unwavering in their optimism and love of life. They lost a sister on their journey back home, and Molly lost her daughter for good. But something deep down in the heart tells them to keep going.