Rabbit-Proof Fence poster & wallpaper

David Gulpilil, Deborah Mailman, Evelyn Sampi

In Western Australia, 1931, the small depot of Jigalong sits on the edge of the Gibson Desert. Running through Jigalong and out into the desert is a rabbit-proof fence that bisects Australia from nort...( read more  read more... )h to south. The fence was built to keep rabbits on one side and pasture on the other. This remote country is home to three spirited Aboriginal girls, Molly, her sister Daisy, and their cousin Gracie. The girls' white fathers are fence workers who have moved on. Now their only contact with white Australia is the weekly ration day at Jigalong Depot. In Perth, AO Neville, the area's Chief Protector of Aborigines, receives word that the three girls are running wild. He believes the Aboriginal race is dying out and believes that the answer to the "colored problem" is to breed out the Aboriginal race. To achieve this he has ruled that children of mixed marriages cannot marry full-blooded Aborigines. Settlements are set up across the state and "half-caste" children are removed from their families and prepared for their "new life in white society" as domestic servants and laborers. Neville orders the removal of Molly, Gracie, and Daisy and they are relocated 1,200 miles from home to a grim settlement. The harsh conditions they must live under shock Molly, and she convinces Daisy and Gracie to run away with her. With Moodoo, a cruel and master tracker on their tails, they begin a grueling three-month journey home, following the rabbit-proof fence that will guide them back to their mother and their rightful home.

Flixster Users

86% liked it

5,423 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

133 critics

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Phillip Noyce

Release Date: November 29, 2002

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DVD Release Date: April 15, 2003

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Stats: 1,245 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,245)

  • dreamfaeries
    September 12, 2008
    dreamfaeries
    Heartbreaking... this just makes me so mad about what they did. Poor Stolen Generation...
  • rebvodka042099
    June 29, 2008
    rebvodka042099
    A movie-gem that got lost in the process of making blockbusters.
  • clooneyfan
    October 6, 2007
    clooneyfan
    Up until 1970, Aborigine children of mixed heritage were routinely taken from their homes and placed in orphanages to be "trained". This is the true story of 3 sisters who walked 1200 miles back home.
  • ladyp1964
    October 5, 2007
    ladyp1964
    I am surprised how few of my Australian flixster friends seem to have seen this film and I only stumbled upon it by coincidence myself.

    A heart-wrenching true story of two young girls, taken away from their mothers and the life they know simply because they are half-casts and th...( read more)e white population thinks they need a better education.

    What an appalling thought.

    A must see film especially for Australians, whether of native or immigrant origin.
  • puffchunk
    January 25, 2007
    puffchunk
    Cool film showing the power of determination for loved ones.
  • jerzyspam
    November 1, 2009
    jerzyspam
    I wonder what horrible prejudices we have today that our grandchildren will disbelieve 80 years later? How misguided do you have to be to listen to a piece of paper instead of a mother crying as you're ripping her daughters away? You cannot "help" people by forcing them to act th...( read more)e way you want them to.
  • ralch
    October 4, 2009
    ralch
    LETTERBOX. La historia es fascinante y su causa logra indignar. Su postura unilateral es en este caso la única admisible, aunque la película se toma la consideración de exponer cómo la barbarie puede ejecutarse teniendo las "mejores intenciones" dentro de una psicología xenofóbic...( read more)a. Las niñas son adorables y el epílogo, tan conmovedor. / The story is fascinating and its cause is worthy of indignation. Its one-sided posture is in this case the only one admissible, even though the film is considerate enough to expose how barbaric acts can be executed having "the best intentions" within a xenophobic mindset. The girls are adorable and the epilogue, heartbreaking.
  • crazyandtired
    September 27, 2009
    crazyandtired
    Rabbit-Proof Fence

    Rabbit Proof Fence took place in Western Australia in1931. The aboriginal lands were being invaded by white settlers. A new law had been passed stating Chief A. O. Neville had the power to remove any half caste within the state, from their families. This law...( read more) was called the aborigine act. The Jigalong?s were dessert people. They were given daily rations and told how to live. Molly, Gracie, and Daisy were half castes. They had a white father. The white men were building a fence that stretched from one end of Australia to the other end. There were three fences. All the girls were taken from their homes and were transported by train to the Moore River Native Settlement. This camp was for half castes. The fair skinned children were taken and put in general population, in hopes that breeding would one day erase all half caste. The dark skinned children had to stay in the settlement. The children were forced to sing white songs and speak in English. Locks were placed on the outside of the sleeping corridors. The white men were training the half castes to be domestic farmers and laborers. Any child caught by the tracker trying to run away would be whipped. Molly decides to leave with the other two girls. The rain helps cover their tracks so that the tracker cannot find them. The girls came across two men who give them a box of matches and some food. Next they travel and meet a lady who gives them clothes and food. She tells them where the rabbit fence is. The girls travel the fence meeting another man. He tells them that they are on the wrong fence. The white men cannot find the girls because Molly is too smart. The girls soon learn when meeting another man that Gracie?s mother is in the area. Gracie leaves Molly and Daisy to search for her. Gracie gets taken back by police to the native settlement. Molly and Daisy continue on. Molly has to carry Daisy most of the way. They walked for nine weeks. They found their mothers and hid in the dessert. Chief Neville was the protector for twenty five years. He said that they had to be protected from themselves. The aboriginal act was carried out until the 1970?s. We now call this time in history the stolen generation. As for the three girls, Gracie died, Molly got married and had children, and Daisy lives with Molly. All of the Aboriginals had to conform to the white?s standards. They were told how much to eat, where to live, and if they could keep their children. The aborigines practiced their beliefs but when put into native settlements they had to sing white men?s songs. The half castes had to speak English, eat different foods, and pray in different ways. These people still today suffer the destruction of identity.
  • angytude
    September 6, 2009
    angytude
    Rabbit-Proof Fence is a look into the affects of an Australian government policy in place from around 1880 until the late 1960?s (Fisher 62) to remove aboriginal children from their homes and integrate them into white society. Now referred to as the ?stolen generation?, these ch...( read more)ildren mixture of aboriginal and white blood and were called ?half-castes?. It was believed that the aboriginal blood could be eliminated over time through breeding with white people. The policy was established In order to hasten this affect and to ?prepare? the children for a more modern way of life.

    Rabbit-Proof Fence is centered on three young aboriginal girls who are removed from their home in Jigalong and taken from their families to be placed into a camp for established for teaching them the white man?s way of life and religion. The majority of the movie is focused on their capture, the subsequent escape from the camp and the hardships they endured on the long twelve hundred mile journey home. Although I found the movie to be a little dry due to the flatness of the characters, I still found it very moving emotionally because of the issues surrounding the events in it.

    Although the details may differ, this story is one that has been repeated many times in history and on every continent in the world. The story of how the dominate cultures in society have a tendency to think that their way is the right way and indigenous people are nothing but ignorant savages. This way of thinking is very prevalent with global religions. Although the policy in Australia may not have been religiously motivated, I felt the movie reflected a strong religious undertone because the camps were supervised by nuns and church seemed to be a large part of the assimilation process.

    With religious groups, much of the time there is a well meaning intention behind the overall act. They truly feel that by teaching indigenous people about their faith, they are enlightening them and saving their souls. But many times what starts out as a mission of faith ends up harming those they originally intended to ?save?. Sometimes there is an alternative motive such as to gain control of their land or other natural resources?or worse, the people themselves by placing them into a life of servitude as in this movie. Of course even the most sincere reasons could end up causing major problems such as bringing new diseases to which they had no immunity to or disrupting their way of life by bringing to them new gadgets, new weapons, alcohol, food, etc. Whatever there reasons, historically more damage has been done than good for most indigenous people and many of their traditions have been destroyed (Fisher 62) and unfortunately, I personally feel there is very little anyone can do to make up the losses they have suffered.

    I thought the ending was the most powerful part of this movie. To see Molly and Daisy as elders now and to hear their words translated about the how the end of the story in the movie was not the end of it for them helped to make it very real to me. Molly stated that her daughter was taken at three years old and she has not seen or heard about her since. There is nothing that can be done to rectify that.

    Works Cited
    Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2008.
  • tina92788
    September 6, 2009
    tina92788
    Rabbit Proof Fence is based on a true story, taking place in Australia in 1931. During this time the Australian government was taking aborigine children who were biracial and were trying to integrate them into the white society. Here we meet fourteen year old Molly, her younger s...( read more)ister Daisy and their cousin Gracie, who are what the Australian government called half-castes. Half-castes are aborigine kids who have white fathers that have since moved on. One day while playing outside of the store house in Jigalong, they are captured. They are taken to a school in Moore River where they are to be trained to become domestic workers and later would be sent to live with white families. Here at the camp, the young aborigine children are forced to do work, go to a Christian school, and basically give up there indigenous ways. Determined to return back to Jigalong, Molly decides to escape and lead Gracie and Daisy back home. Remembering what a worker once told Molly about the rabbit proof fence that runs through Australia which would lead them home, the embark on a 1,500 mile journey home. The movie follows the girls on the journey with a tracker and government officials on their trail. This movie was an extremely powerful and heart breaking story of hope and determination.
    In relation to world religions, this movie gives us an example of exclusivism. The Australian government felt like their way was the only way. The director of the school wanted to ultimately eliminate all of the aborigines. He thought that taking them from their homes and assimilating them into white society would help them but it actually created problems. The closed mindlessness of the Australian government eventually led to cause the ?Stolen Generations.? The aborigines who were not able to escape lost their sense of culture and belonging. You also get to see the women of the Jigalong tribe participate in rituals that help bring the girls back home. Overall I thought the movie was great. Before watching this movie I was not aware of this part of Australian history. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone.

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Critic Reviews

December 25, 2002
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Sampi rarely faces the camera; her gaze eludes us, but her strength and willfulness jump off the screen. full review

December 25, 2002
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

An amazing story, amazingly told. full review

December 25, 2002
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This journey, which evokes some of the same mystery of the outback evoked in many other Australian films (notably Walkabout), is beautiful, harrowing and sometimes heartbreaking. full review

November 29, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

An extraordinary story is reduced to a predictable, heart-tugging issue-movie- of-the-week. full review

View more Rabbit-Proof Fence reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • SHAWTTYPWINCESS
    November 2, 2007
    SHAWTTYPWINCESS
    THIS MOVIE IS GREAT MUST SEE
  • Flailinginge
    July 4, 2007
    Flailinginge
    A section of white Australia refuses to admit the terrible impact British colonisation had on the Aboriginal people of Australia. Australian schools have only just begun teaching the grubbier side of our history, the destruction and near of genocide of the indigenous peoples and their culture. As a white Australian, I found this film uncomfortable viewing. I couldn't help but feel a sense of shame and sadness.
    Unfortunately, i can't say this happened in a more 'barbaric' age. it was still taking place in the late 1950's and early 1960's.
    The Aboriginal people of Australia were only granted citizenship in 1967.
    A powerful, moving film.
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  • Which of the following is a true fact about the movie 'Rabbit-Proof Fence'  Answer »
  • Which movie's tagline is: If you were kidnapped by the government, would you walk the 1500 miles back home?'  Answer »
  • In which film do three Aboriginal girls walk home from a settlement for 'half-castes' 1200 miles away?  Answer »
  • How far do 3 young girls travel on foot across Australia in Rabbit-Proof Fence?  Answer »
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