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A Buena Vista release. Written by Christine Olsen; directed by Phillip Noyce; starring Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan and Kenneth Brannagh. Released to DVD on April 15, 2003.  Normally when I hear that a production has an above average behind-the-scenes story, I cringe because it roughly translates to this: the production had an extraordinary amount of unforeseen problems. Really, when everything goes smoothly on set, the production remains on schedule and comes in below its budget, the behind-the-scenes story isn’t that interesting; it’s unusual as hell, but the details aren’t that intriguing. This makes Rabbit-Proof Fence’s interesting back story all the more fascinating because the final product is as wondrous and spectacular a film as has been released in the last two years. Tired of making studio projects, director Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games) turned his attention to this much smaller tale of three young girls in the 1930’s who traverse half the Australian continent in an effort to return to their home town. Based on a true story, Rabbit-Proof Fence is the story of Molly (Everlyn Sampi) and her younger sister Daisy (Tianna Sansbury), and their friend Gracie (Laura Monaghan). Deemed half-castes by the government (half Aborigine, half white), the three girls were, by grace of a law allowing it, taken from their homes and their families and shipped to a special school, where they would learn how to be servants, cooks and/or maids. The Australian government’s reasoning behind this move was that if half-castes were allowed to marry white people the white lineage might become muddled with the indigenous Aboriginal lineage. If it is dealt with in Australia, the subject is handled with kid gloves; think slave reparations in America. Particularly embarrassing is the fact that this practice was legal until 1971. Rabbit-Proof Fence was Noyce’s stunning tribute to the kids of this ‘Lost Generation’. Societal impact aside, Rabbit-Proof Fence is a supremely well made film. It is entertaining, enlightening, with adventure to spare, complete with three, albeit smaller than usual, determined, feisty and sympathetic heroes in Molly, Daisy and Gracie.  Vaguely reminiscent of 1993’s A Far Off Place, Rabbit-Proof Fence, when stripped away of all controversy, is the story of three girls battling the harsh Australian environment. With this in mind, Noyce’s choice to hire cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Made, The Quiet American), a frequent collaborator with director Wong Kar-Wei, was most prescient. Together, the two created a brilliantly desolate, unforgiving portrait of the landscape surrounding the rabbit-proof fence. If the antagonist–namely the flat, ominous desert–wasn’t up to snuff, this movie would have fallen well short of its intended mark. Complete with strong acting performances , Rabbit-Proof Fence is one of the best films to have been released this year. This was Noyce’s homecoming film, and he delivers in a grand fashion.
chris neumer yes, it's true: Strange as it may seem, there actually is a rabbit-proof fence in Australia. According to the agriculture department of Western Australia, a man named Thomas Austin imported 24 rabbits to Victoria in 1859. By 1901, the number of rabbits in Australia had skyrocketed to the point where they were damaging crops throughout the majority of eastern Australia. In order to prevent the rabbits from spreading to Western Australia, the agriculture department built a series of fences from one end of the continent to the other to keep the rabbits out. | |||||
