Rabbit-Proof Fence

Phillip Noyce, Australia, 94 mins. Certificate: PG

Three young girls try to escape the fate of so many others at the time of the Aborigine Act, one of Australia’s shameful hours. Their physical guide home, the never-ending rabbit-proof fence; their true guide, their instinct and the love for the family they were so cruelly snatched away from…  

Reviews

1931, Western Australia. With the Aborigine Act, the Chief Protector of Aborigines in the State of Western Australia, A.O. Neville, has the right to seize “half-caste” children (of both aborigine and white parentage) and house them in settlements, where they are to be “re-educated” to western ways and to eventually become servants for white people.
Three girls, Molly, 14, Daisy, 10 and Grace 8, are destined to have the same fate but, under Molly’s protection and guidance along the 1500 mile rabbit-proof fence which runs adjacent to Jigalong, try to navigate their way home- but Neville is determined to not let them escape…

Based on an extraordinary true story in one of Australia’s darker History pages, Phillip Noyce’s film is moving, spellbinding and visually stunning, featuring an atmospheric soundtrack by Peter Gabriel and powerful performances by Kenneth Branagh and the three young actors, Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury and Laura Monaghan, who play the brave little girls. Not to be missed, for so many reasons!

‘”Rabbit-Proof Fence” is proof that there will always be stories from real life — and from other parts of the globe — that are shocking and beautiful to behold. All movies should aspire to be this good.” Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com

“Not since the last shots of “Schindler’s List” have I been so overcome with the realization that real people, in recent historical times, had to undergo such inhumanity.” Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com

“…the spic-and-span wholesomeness of ”Rabbit-Proof Fence” ultimately makes its sting all the sharper. Its portrait of people who see themselves as decent, self-righteously trying to eradicate another culture, has the impact of a swift, hard slap in the face.” Stephen Holden, www.nytimes.com