Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1517 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-15
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on a true story, Rabbit-proof Fence moves with dignified grace from its joyful opening scenes to a conclusion that's moving beyond words. The title refers to a 1,500-mile fence separating outback desert from the farmlands of Western Australia. It's here, in 1931, that three aboriginal girls are separated from their mothers and transported to a distant training school, where they are prepared for assimilation into white society by a racist government policy. Gracie, Daisy, and Molly belong to Australia's "stolen generations", and this riveting film (based on the book by Molly's daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara) follows their escape and tenacious journey homeward, while a stubborn policy enforcer (Kenneth Branagh) demands their recapture.

Director Phillip Noyce chronicles their ordeal with gentle compassion, guiding his untrained, aboriginal child actors with a keen eye for meaningful expressions. Their performances evoke powerful emotions (subtly enhanced by Peter Gabriel's excellent score), illuminating a shameful chapter of Australian history while conveying our universal need for a true and proper home. --Jeff Shannon

From the studio
'Following the Rabbit Proof Fence' Documentary

Feature Commentary with Director Phillip Noyce

Synopsis
Set in Australia in 1931, RABBIT-PROOF FENCE tells the story of a government policy that required "half-caste" children (whose mothers were Aboriginal and whose fathers were white) to be taken from their homes by the authorities to be trained to work as servants. Based on the true story of Molly Craig, Philip Noyce's film of small gestures and few words follows the odyssey of three young girls who escaped from the government's training facility and, using the country's long stretches of rabbit-proof fences as their guide, walked 1500 miles to get back home.
Told squarely from Molly's point of view, RABBIT-PROOF FENCE also highlights the Australian government's treatment of Aboriginies by A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), the legal guardian of the country's indigenous people. His plan to "breed out" the Aboriginal blood of the half-castes is marked by a cool calculation and moral blindness that stands out in sharp contrast to Molly's spiritual and intuitive relationship to the people and places she encounters on her journey.

Customer Reviews

expected better
after having watched the new Australian PM say "sorry" to Native Australians juxtaposed with a new (white) Australian saying "sorry?they should be thanking us for giving them schools and education etc" I rented this with the expectation of obtaining an understanding of the policies employed and the emotions involved from 'real' australians. I can only echo a previous comment that this falls a bit flat and seems a bit of a'cop out'. i can understand viewers empathy but there was not, for me, the huge emotional involvement in the characters that I expected.All in all a disappointment although i'm sure there is a fantastic film in these stories if someone has the time to portray this abhorrent reality properly. By the way,in my (limited)experience the attitude of the white australian quoted appears to still be the prevalent attitude in the australia of today.....

life is unfair
I loved this film. Is very sad and touching. And it's feels more strong because is a real life story. And unfortunately still happening in some 3rd world countries. Life is so unfair!!!!!

Inspiring True Story
Between 1905 and 1971 the Australian government had enacted a policy of forcibly removed all half-caste Aboriginal children to special training schools. The grown daughter of Molly wrote a book about her mother's experiences and this movie is an adaptation of that true story.

In 1931, Molly and her younger cousins, Gracie and Daisy, were three half-caste children from Western Australia who were taken from their parents under government edict and sent to an institution, were taught to forget their families, their culture, and re-invent themselves as members of "white" Australian society. The three girls begin an epic journey back to Western Australia, traveling 1,500 miles on foot with no food or water, and navigating by following the fence that has been build across the nation to stem an over-population of rabbits.

Though the movie shows that the government's officer in charge had essentially good intentions. That these actions brought about by this policy were misguided and ultimately very destructive to Australia's Aborigine people and to the nation's moral fabric. This story of hope and survival will give you faith in the undying strength of the human spirit. Well worth watching.