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Rabbit-Proof Fence

Rabbit-Proof Fence

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Summary

Period drama based on a true story, starring Kenneth Branagh, Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury and Laura Monaghan. In 1931, three young girls are wrenched from their family in Western Australia and placed in an institution as part of the government's policy to take mixed-race children and raise them as "white". But Molly, Daisy and Gracie escape and begin a long journey home, pursued by a relentless Aborigine tracker and a government official.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Alan Jones

Though rather worthy and self-important, director Phillip Noyce's superbly photographed fact-based drama is not without impact as it throws light on a shameful period in Australia's past. In 1931, 14-year-old Molly (Everlyn Sampi) is interned by the Australian government as part of their policy to forcibly integrate mixed-race Aborigines into white society (a policy that continued up until the 1970s). Molly escapes with her younger sister, Daisy, and cousin, and walks the 1,200 miles back to their loving family using the fence that bisects the continent (it was erected to keep rabbits from the crops) as a guide. The children are wonderfully natural, Kenneth Branagh is excellent as misguided politician AO Neville - who apparently truly believed "racial cleansing" was for the greater good - and David Gulpilil is superb as the resentful Aborigine tracker employed to hunt down the youngsters. It's just a shame that Noyce's predictable direction often fails to emotionally engage us with this shocking "stolen generations" story - based on the book by Molly's daughter - that is given extra poignancy by the appearance of the real-life Molly and her sister in the heartfelt epilogue.

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7.4/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameMolly CraigEverlyn SampiDaisy CraigTianna SansburyGracie FieldsLaura MonaghanMoodooDavid GulpililMr AO NevilleKenneth BranaghMavisDeborah MailmanConstable RiggsJason Clarke (2)Molly's motherNingali Lawford

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Crew

rolenameDirectorPhillip Noyce

Details

Theatrical distributor

Buena Vista

Released on

2002-11-08

Languages

English

Available on

video and DVD

Formats

Colour

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