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Rabbit-Proof Fence
Studio: Miramax
Year: 2002
Rated: PG
Film Length: 94 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (2.35:1)
Subtitles: English
1500 Miles Is A Long Way Home
Because I receive dozens of screener titles each
week, I often have to make difficult choices on
which films I wish to review as opposed to those
I just don't have time for. In all cases, I try
to select different types of titles that cover a
wide range of interests. With the HTF membership
always in mind, I try to offer reviews on a diverse
variety of titles. This brings me to Rabbit-Proof
Fence, a film that I had never heard of before,
but was immediately attracted to based on its
factual historical significance.
Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the true story of
a shameful episode of Australian history and
decades of prejudicial treatment endured by the
aboriginal peoples. Until 1970 it was official
government policy to remove fair-skinned ‘half-caste’
children from aboriginal homes and transplant them
to white families, with the intention of ‘breeding out’
aboriginal characteristics and thus preventing
the creation of “an unwanted third race.” It
was hoped that by the third generation the blackness
would be bred out of their descendents and Australia
would be a more purely white society.
The film begins in the early 1930s where we meet
Molly, Daisy and Gracie, three young Aboriginal
girls living with their family at Jigalong, on
the edge of the Little Sandy Desert, on a reserve
in Northern Australia. Unbeknownst to them, a
special committee has been set up to contain this
mixing, headed by A. O. Neville, Chief Protector
of Aborigines (Kenneth Branagh). Neville decrees
that all half-cast children be placed on a special
reserve where they can be civilized and assimilated
into white culture.
Before we know it, the three girls are seized from
their families and taken - in a cage - to a school
in the south, where they are to learn to be white
and speak only English. Molly, the oldest of the
girls, decides to escape, dragging the younger girls
with her. The girls' only hope of finding their way
home is to follow a mesh rabbit-proof fence that
crisscrossed the country and divided it from north
to south. They better be careful however, as hot
on their trails is Moodoo (David Gulpilil), a tracker
who tends to easily find and recapture escapees from
the school.
Though I found the factual story of Rabbit-Proof
Fence to be a very powerful one, I was disappointed
that the film lacks memorable soul-wrenching content.
There's very little here that draws us emotionally
into the plights of these three girls. Rather than
being pulled into the story, I felt as if I was
watching it from a distance. Still, one can't help
but to be inspired by the courage of these three
girls who seek nothing more than their own freedom.
How is the transfer?
Miramax has given us a generally pleasing transfer
with video that looks clean, although somewhat soft.
I must point out that the director chose to make
some stylish choices that affect image quality. The
scenes that take place in Jigalong are enhanced
with a good amount of background grain. Once we
leave that location, the transfer takes on a much
cleaner and smoother look with clear, bright and
accurate color rendering. Some of the beautiful
Australian outback scenes often suffer from
excessive bright contrast, but I expect, again,
this was the intent of the filmmaker.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix sports great low
frequency, a wide front stage and rumbling .LFE
and rear support that adds texture to Peter Gabriel's
evocative score that uses Aboriginal and contemporary
sources as a highly rhythmic backup to the film's
mostly silent action. The rears do a nice job of
reproducing the ambient sounds of the Australian
outback. Very nice listen!
Special Features
First up is a feature-length commentary with
Director Phillip Noyce and featuring musician Peter
Gabriel actor Kenneth Branagh, screenwriter Christine
Olsen and Author Pilkington Garimara. The commentary
begins with the deep James Earl Jones-like voice of
director Phillip Noyce who tells us about the night
he was awoken from his sleep at 3am by a phone call
from a strange-sounding woman who was pitching him
the idea of making a film based upon her screenplay.
That woman was screenwriter Christine Olsen, and she
begins to tell us how she happened to come upon
the book, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by
Author Doris Pilkington. The book told the story
of her mother's return to her homelands from the
Moore River Native Settlement using hundreds of
kilometers of rabbit-proof fence as a guide. The
author had the opportunity to go to Jigalong and
talk not only with the children who resided there,
but Molly and Daisy themselves. Director Phillip
Noyce wastes a lot of time venting about his
frustrations over begging Harrison Ford to star in
The sum of all fears. I suppose the reason
the director is doing this is to make a bold
statement about the tyranny of the Hollywood star
system and why a film like this became so attractive
to him. Author Doris Pilkington tells a very
detailed story of her Mother's plights including
the separation from her baby daughter. About 40
minutes into the commentary, Peter Gabriel begins
talking about constructing the film's soundtrack
using naturally recorded sounds. This is a great
listen as Gabriel gives us some specific recorded
examples, including the sounds of a magpie that was
recorded and then slowed down with added reverb.
Alas, unless I am mistaken, Gabriel only talks for
approximately 4 minutes in this entire commentary.
Although rather dryly presented, this commentary
offers a lot of background information on a very
dark period in Australian history.
Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence takes us
to the western Australian outback where we meet
director Phllip Noyce who is searching for three
Aboriginal children to star in his film, Rabbit-
Proof Fence. We watch the director as he
interviews a few of the hundred children that have
shown up to audition for the roles. Through raw
video footage, we watch as the kids are put
through acting and improvisational classes that
will ultimately prepare them for the film. We also
get a very in-depth idea of the casting process
and how the choices are narrowed down, and the
final selection of girls are chosen. Finally, we
watch as the young actresses have their makeup
applied and hair done before they venture to the
outdoor sets where we see them perform in front of
the camera. This is a totally engaging and highly
interesting documentary that is well worth watching.
(length: approx. 42 minutes)
Although the film's original theatrical trailer is
notably absent here, there are Sneak Peeks
for the films Frida, Quiet American and
(Kieslowski's) Heaven
Final Thoughts
Although Rabbit-Proof Fence is a sad and
terribly touching story, the film never becomes
the powerful emotional experience it should have
been. Nonetheless, the film is certainly worth
a watch -- especially for the fact that it brings
Aboriginal issues back into the open.
If you see it on the rental shelf, give it a try!
Release Date: April 15, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
