Rabbit-Proof Fence
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Movie Reviews of Rabbit-Proof Fence
Movie Review: Amazing and Inspiring
Summary: 5 Stars
With so many fine reviews ahead of me, I will make this one short. This is a film that had the impact of a life changing influence on me. As a white, middle class American woman, I deeply identified with Molly's plight, though she was an Aboriginal girl from Australia. I walked with her through the harsh Outback landscape, after escaping the oppression of the internment camp. I strained with her as she carried her sister on her back for hundreds of miles, longing to get home, I felt her faith return when she found the rabbit proof fence, and felt her strength return when she woke up by hearing the call of her hawk, her spirit bird, helping to guide her. Very few movies in my life have given me such inspiration, and told a true story with such dedication, care and artistry. After seeing the movie, I am now reading more about the experiences of other indigenous cultures who suffered the terrible impact of colonization and still suffer today the current dominant culture's exploitation. I have been reading the books of Doris Pilkington (Molly's daughter) and other indigenous women writers who have reclaimed their dignity and spirituality in telling their stories. Rabbit Proof Fence opened my eyes and took me out of my comfort zone, yet in such a beautiful, uplifting way.
Another quick note: it is worth watching the documentary called Following the Rabbit Proof Fence. It is fascinating because it shows us how the children were discovered for the roles, and how challenging it was for all involved. Bringing different cultures together, along with bringing Aboriginal children together who had never acted before from remote parts of Australia presented a bold task, but resulted in a remarkable feat of film making.
Movie Review: From a World Religions Point of View
Summary: 5 Stars
Based in 1931, the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence is about half-cast children being taken from their Aboriginal mothers and to a place called Moore River. Here they will be brought up by whites and supposedly this is to save them from themselves. Three girls escape shortly after arriving to Moore River and they travel through the Australian terrain to get back home to their mothers while a tracker and other hired men are given the task of finding them and bringing them back to Moore River. Along the way back home to Jigalong, they run into several people who are willing to help them and provide them a helping hand, such as giving them food and providing them with shelter to rest for a short period before they head back out and continue their journey. Eventually, they reach the rabbit-proof fence, where they will follow it all the way back to Jigalong.
The movie relates to World Religions because it tells of how difficult it can be for someone who is different to survive. It shows that not everyone is treated the same just because of their culture and how they are raised and that there are people out there that are trying to get them to convert to living like them. These children were taught that their ways were inferior and others tried to bring them away from their culture and the things they were taught. It proves that with determination someone can escape the strife that is being thrown at them and can get to a place where they belong and where they can continue to be happy. Another thing that relates to World Religions is the characters in the movie were indigenous to their land and they lived away from the places that were industrialized and they survived on their own without needing the help of industry.
Movie Review: Rabbit Proof Fence - A must see
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie illustrated what so many people with different beliefs have had to suffer through at the hands of those who thought they knew what was best for someone they perceive as different (and wrong) and who abused the power they were given. Mr. Neville was given the task of "protecting" the Aboriginal people but in essence what he was doing was hoping to extract the Aborigine from the "half-castes", as they were called, the children of mixed parentage to make their descendants "white" again. The three girls were taken forcibly from their mother simply because they had a white father. In watching the movie, I wondered why the children had white fathers and in one telling scene, it appears that these women were treated as whores by white men and left to raise these children. In many ways it makes me ashamed and disgusted to be white when I see injustices such as these being played out.
This was a religious battle, as the girls were sent to a Catholic internment camp. Some of the girls had given up but in some scenes you see the joy in knowing that those three girls got away. They wish it had been them. They still held fast to their own heritage in spite of it and you could see the pride they felt when in reading an article, it was said that the only trace they found of the three girls was a rabbit skin. They giggled over this and you just knew that they were feeling the pride of their own heritage and background, having been raised to be hunters themselves. My favorite scene was the one where the mother, grandmother and other women of the tribe were chanting and praying to the spirits to watch over the girls.
This was an incredible movie, it touched me as a mother and as a person.
Movie Review: A Celebration of the Tenacious Human Spirit
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Phillip Noyce has succeeded in creating a cinematic version of the true book about the 'racial cleansing' of the Australian Aborigines that took part in the first half of the 20th Century. The Australian government subsidized campsites to where half caste Aboriginal girls would be sent to breed with white men and thus diminish the ethnic qualities of the 'backward natives'. In three genrations the half castes could produce dilution of the 'blackness' of their people by creating half castes > camaroons > octaroons who would have at least the physical characteristics of whites. This horid bit of history is brought to light by director Noyce in a sophisticated, straight forward, very tender rendering of the escape of three sisters by following the course of the rabbit-proof fence extending from their displacemnet camp in Northern Australia to their home 1500 miles to the South. Most of the film dwells on the odyssey of Molly, Gracie, and Daisy as they stalwartly defy desert, hunger, fear and the trackers to reach their home. Noyce wisely uses three inordinately fine young Aboriginal girls to play the key roles. The evil incarnate Kenneth Branaugh summarizes the Australian government plan, and the remainder of the cast is uniformly excellent. Photographed in a tone that suggests the bleak wildness of the Australian desert, this little film is a monument to the indefatigable spirit and soul of the Aborigines, and as such this film stands as an important document in the studies about human rights. Beautifull made with touching simplicity, RABBIT-PROOF FENCE is a film that will enhance your knowledge while nurturing your spirit. Highly Recommended.Movie Review: A powerful true story about Australia's "Stolen Generation"
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1931 Australia, A.O. Neville, working within the boundaries of the law, forcibly removes three half-caste girls from their aboriginal home. The three girls -- Molly, Daisy and Gracie -- are sent 1,200 miles from their home in Jigalong to a school for children such as themselves, half-aborigine, half-white. the camp strives to assimilate the children into the white culture through such things as church and disallowing the use of their native language. Molly is determined, though, to make it back to her mother, and on a day threatening rain, she, Gracie and Daisy escape from the school. The only way to make it back to Jigalong is to walk the 1200 miles along the rabbit-proof fence that stretches the entire length of Australia.This film tells the true story of the girls' trek across Australia through such dangers as hunger, thirst, the desert and an aboriginal tracker who is just as determined to re-capture them. With stunning cinematography, a fine script and marvelous direction from Phillip Noyce, the viewer is drawn into this harrowing story. Peter Gabriel's score suits the setting and subtles acts to enrich the emotional impact of the film. The acting is equally good with Kenneth Branagh as A.O. Neville who earns the nickname "Devil" and David Gulpilil as the aboriginal tracker. the best performances, though, come from the three young girls: Tianna Sansbury as Daisy, the youngest; Laura Monaghan as Gracie, who forces herself to escape with Molly; and Everlyn Sampi as Molly, the head-strong young girl determined to let nothing stop them from returing home.
This is a powerful true story, full of emotion. Definitely not one to miss.