Movie: Rabbit-Proof Fence

I very rarely enjoy the performance of a child actor. Everything seems too fake and overacted. It often seems as though the children just memorize their lines and recite them for the camera. Overall, it’s just not believable. Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, and Laura Monaghan have changed that. Their stunning performances make Rabbit-Proof Fence a wonderful and real movie. The viewer can completely believe that these three girls, when stolen from their Aboriginal tribe in northern Australia, walk 1,500 miles home from the camp that was trying to train them as servants. The escape comes early on in the movie, which is great for my attention span, but a little unnerving to some American viewers used to long, drawn-out stories. However, I started to think, ‘can the rest of the movie really only be about their walk home?’ Yes, because as one of the movie’s tagline states, “1,500 miles is a long way home.” A very long way home indeed, and made more difficult when the way leads through the harsh Australian outback. The lighting and cinematography place viewers in the movie. At one point in the film, the girls are dehydrated and completely exhausted. Watching it, I felt as dizzy and tired as though I had walked several hundred miles as well. The other great acting in the movie comes from Kenneth Branagh as the seemingly unfeeling and cold Mr. A. O. Neville, who is in charge of the “protection of Aboriginals” (the young girls at the training camp nickname him “Mr. Devil”). He believes that it is his duty to “save these savages from themselves.” This is especially true for the half-caste children, or those of Aboriginal and white descent. He was accorded his power through the Aborigines Act of 1931, which was not rescinded until the 1980s. One aspect of his job is to determine whether the proposed marriages of Aboriginals or half-castes are suitable, and if not, to arrange a more “appropriate” one. The movie is based on a true story written by Doris Pilkington, who is the daughter of Molly Craig, the main character. Watching the movie, it is astonishing to think what these girls actually went through. There is very little food to be had in the bush, and even less water. The average American does not walk even a mile a week, so it is difficult to imagine 1,500 miles in three months, with meager sustenance. To add to the challenge, the girls must evade a skilled Aboriginal tracker named Moodoo, sent by Mr. Neville from the training camp. Mr. Neville is quite dogged in his pursuit of Molly, her sister Daisy, and their cousin Gracie. He sets up a trap for them at one junction of the rabbit-proof fence they have been following to get home. They remember that a rabbit-proof fence runs through Jigalong, their hometown. However, they do not know that there is more than one fence, and that they all head in different directions. A large part of their survival is due to the kindness of strangers. One woman who aids them is also a half-caste, and was trained at the same camp the girls escaped from. The actress does a superb job of expressing the regret and fear of her character-regret because she herself did not manage to escape, though she tried several times, and fear of the people she works for. The direction of Philip Noyce in this film is marvelous, to elicit such poignant acting from such young girls, and such malevolence from Kenneth Branagh. His choice of scenery is beautiful and alluring, and the music, done by Peter Gabriel, fits perfectly with the tone of the film. Overall, the film was very affecting. It is saddening to imagine the number of children taken from their parents and tribes and forced into servitude, and to realize that this went on for nearly fifty years, with the end coming only about twenty years ago. It made me think of Native Americans in the United States, when children were taken from their tribes and put into schools. One criticism said that the film did not really connect this issue to the present day, but I feel that it makes its point very well heard: that in trying to “help” or “save” indigenous peoples, those doing the “saving” usually cause great harm. This film was part of the International Film Series here at Plymouth State University, which shows one foreign film a month in room 101 in the Frost Academic Commons, located behind Mary Lyon. The next film will be Osama, which is about a young girl in Afghanistan trying to disguise herself as a boy so she will not face the harsh treatment of being a woman. It will be shown Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 p.m.