Rabbit-Proof Fence | Review

Epic journey and will to survive convincingly captured in Noyce’s simple yet effective film.

After the brilliant Lantana, Australia brings us yet again another splendid 2002 import. Part of the Montreal audience attending the screening was director Phillip Noyce who revealed that he considered himself just “lucky enough to be a part of the project”. It should be noted that the cinematographer and the first-time actresses should be applauded, but Noyce should allow himself to get most of the praise for bringing the story of Rabbit-Proof Fence to audiences worldwide.

The politically-historic embedded drama is about Aboriginal Australians children taken by the government from their families and thrown into a “white” system. The true life account of these three aboriginal sisters shows the long journey back home and no there no convenient subways systems in the middle of the wasteland to speed them off to the safety’s doorstep. Molly, Daisy and Gracie are chased by the authorities, an expert tracker and a tyrant in Mr. Neville (Kenneth Branagh- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) who performs as the antagonist with an empty-air hand grasp to chilling perfection.

With a short run time (clocking in just over the 90 minute mark) and a narrative that seems relatively effortless, Rabbit-Proof Fence goes for the heart with a back and forth story structure that sees the hunter and the hunted and the haunted. Noyce visually captures the wit and the determination of both the protagonists and their insurmountable adversary and leaves plenty of space for the dramatic turning points in the narrative-as witnessed by the unbelievable lengths that the girls go through in order to cover up their tracks. Showing the sisters in their golden age at the film’s conclusion- shows a very humane personal way to cap the film and also tells us that this eventually reoccurred and later became a generational problem. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle who did some marvelously subtle beautiful photography for In the Mood for Love, does more than just show these child actors in various settings of the Australian terrain-he captures the grit in the images with beautiful shots that focus on less-evident actions, such as a small hand drenching plants for water and bringing it to the mouth. With a Gabriel score that captures the right beat for the film and the minimum dialogue adds to the weight of the picture-with the emphasis placed on the faces of these three girls and the many shots showing there beaten down bodies. As a viewer, you find yourself crossing your fingers in more than one instant-you hope that they could somehow pick up an extra sandwich, or find an extra bird egg or a spare drop of water.

Noyce passed on the film of The Sum of all Fears to work on this project; I think that this feature and his upcoming The Quiet American will most give him the kind of alternative kick start to his career that will get him out of dumb films such as -Sliver, The Saint and The Bone Collector. Rabbit Proof Fence definitely won’t make big gross numbers-but this heartfelt film is an emotionally driven experience, which might not have been addressed in previous films that addressed the subject.

Rating 3.5 stars