Rabbit-Proof Fence
- For the actual fence, see Rabbit-proof fence
Rabbit-Proof Fence | |
---|---|
Directed by | Phillip Noyce |
Written by | Doris Pilkington (book), Christine Olsen |
Produced by | Phillip Noyce, Christine Olsen |
Starring | Everlyn Sampi, Kenneth Branagh, David Gulpilil |
Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release date | 4 February 2002 |
Running time | 94 min |
Languages | English, Martu Wangka |
Budget | ~ US$6,000,000 |
Rabbit-Proof Fence is an Australian film based on the book Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It concerns the author's mother, and two other young mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from a residential school that is located in Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, in which they were placed in 1931, in order to return to their Aboriginal families.
The film follows the girls as they walk for nine weeks along 1,500 miles (2414km) of the Australian rabbit-proof fence to return to their community at Jigalong.
The film formed a part of a major debate in contemporary Australia over the stolen generation - those Aboriginal children separated from their parents by the State. The film stirred debate over its historical accuracy. Some, like Andrew Bolt, criticised the portrayal of A. O. Neville, the Protector of Aborigines in Western Australia and responsible for removing the girls from their families (especially by banishing them to residential schools), arguing that he was inaccurately represented as paternalistic and racist. Bolt also stated that the film is biased because it did not demonstrate that the girls were not being cared for properly by their parents. Its supporters argue however that the film was a fair dramatic representation.
The soundtrack to the film is called Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Peter Gabriel.
How Phillip Noyce succeeded in finding Aboriginal actresses for the film is described in detail in the "Making Of" on the DVD.
Cast
- Everlyn Sampi - Molly Craig
- Tianna Sansbury - Daisy Craig
- Laura Monaghan - Gracie Fields
- Kenneth Branagh - A.O. Neville
- David Gulpilil - Moodoo
External links
- "A rabbit-proof fence full of holes", The Australian, March 11, 2002. Critique by Peter Howson (Minister for Aboriginal affairs in 1971 and 1972) and Des Moore (director of the Institute for Private Enterprise)
- Phillip Noyce's Shooting Diary
- Rabbit-Proof Fence at IMDb
- BBC Film Review
- Phil Noyce Interview
The book
- Rabbit-Proof Fence : The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time ISBN 0-7868-8784-2