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IMDbPro

Rabbit-Proof Fence

  • 20022002
  • PGPG
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
29K
YOUR RATING
Laura Monaghan, Everlyn Sampi, and Tianna Sansbury in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Trailer
Play trailer1:25
3 Videos
32 Photos
BiographyDrama
In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.In 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
29K
YOUR RATING
    • Phillip Noyce
    • Doris Pilkington(book "Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence")
    • Christine Olsen(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Everlyn Sampi
    • Tianna Sansbury
    • Kenneth Branagh
    • Phillip Noyce
    • Doris Pilkington(book "Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence")
    • Christine Olsen(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Everlyn Sampi
    • Tianna Sansbury
    • Kenneth Branagh
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 262User reviews
    • 48Critic reviews
    • 80Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos3

    Rabbit-Proof Fence
    Trailer 1:25
    Watch Rabbit-Proof Fence
    Rabbit-Proof Fence
    Trailer 1:25
    Watch Rabbit-Proof Fence
    Rabbit-Proof Fence
    Trailer 1:09
    Watch Rabbit-Proof Fence

    Photos32

    Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury and Laura Monagan
    Kenneth Branagh, Laura Monaghan, Everlyn Sampi, and Tianna Sansbury in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Kenneth Branagh in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Kenneth Branagh and David Gulpilil in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Laura Monaghan, Everlyn Sampi, and Tianna Sansbury in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Kenneth Branagh in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Jason Clarke in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Laura Monaghan and Tianna Sansbury in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Jason Clarke, Ningali Lawford, Laura Monaghan, and Everlyn Sampi in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Kenneth Branagh and Everlyn Sampi in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Everlyn Sampi in Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
    Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Everlyn Sampi
    Everlyn Sampi
    • Molly Craig
    Tianna Sansbury
    Tianna Sansbury
    • Daisy Craig Kadibill
    Kenneth Branagh
    Kenneth Branagh
    • A.O. Neville
    Laura Monaghan
    • Gracie Fields
    David Gulpilil
    David Gulpilil
    • Moodoo
    Ningali Lawford
    Ningali Lawford
    • Maud - Molly's Mother
    Myarn Lawford
    • Molly's Grandmother
    Deborah Mailman
    Deborah Mailman
    • Mavis
    Jason Clarke
    Jason Clarke
    • Constable Riggs
    Natasha Wanganeen
    • Nina, Dormitory Boss
    Garry McDonald
    Garry McDonald
    • Mr. Neal at Moore River
    Roy Billing
    Roy Billing
    • Police Inspector
    Lorna Lesley
    • Miss Thomas
    • (as Lorna Leslie)
    Celine O'Leary
    • Miss Jessop
    Kate Roberts
    • Matron at Moore River
    Tracy Monaghan
    • Moodoo's Daughter
    Tamara Flanagan
    • Olive, Escaped Girl
    David Ngoombujarra
    • Kangaroo Hunter
      • Phillip Noyce
      • Doris Pilkington(book "Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence")
      • Christine Olsen(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Everlyn Sampi (Molly Craig) ran away twice during filming. In one instance, she was found in a phone booth, trying to buy tickets back to Broome.
    • Goofs
      The three girls Molly, Gracie and Daisy were not taken by surprise and removed by force from Jigalong. The violent removal scene in the film is entirely fictional. The girls' mothers were informed beforehand they were to travel with Constable Riggs and, without any protest, they acquiesced in the decision. The girls left Jigalong on horseback, not locked in a motor car.
    • Quotes

      Daisy Kadibill: [after Molly lifts Daisy up to a bird's nest to gather some eggs to eat] Three of them!

      Molly Craig: Perfect. One for you, one for me, and one for both of us!

    • Crazy credits
      The painting songs sung by the Walpiri, Amatjere and Wangajunka women were not sacred songs, but were songs able to be performed in public.
    • Connections
      Edited from A Steam Train Passes (1974)
    • Soundtracks
      Ngankarrparni
      (Sky Blue Reprise) (2002)

      Written by Peter Gabriel

      Featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama and Myarn Lawford (as Myarn) and Ningali Lawford

    User reviews262

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Powerful story, beautifully shot and pretty well acted – more than deserves 90 minutes of your time
    1931 Australia. The state has passed a law that facilitates the collection of mixed race children to boarding camps where they are trained in their white side of their blood and to be home help as adults. The eventual aim is to prevent the growth of the aborigines as a race by watering down any mixed blood. A small group of children, Molly, Gracie and Daisy are taken from their mother and transferred across the country to one such camp. However Molly leads the trio in an escape from the camp and follow the rabbit proof fence that divides the country to return to her home.

    I managed to fluke free preview tickets for this because the tickets I had come to collect were all gone! I must admit this film hadn't really appealed to me when I saw summaries and the poster, but I'm very glad that I did. The plot is based on fact and is a period of history that I admit I knew nothing about. I was surprised that this cruel and immoral practice carried on till as late as the seventies. The fact that the current Prime Minister of Australia refuses to apologise for it to this day shows that it is important that this story be told.

    The film is told in a steady, unsentimental tone that allows the film to be powerful without the typically Hollywood use of sweeping music or other such lazy tools. Instead the circumstances of the story create the emotion. The story is a little weak at some points – once the children escape the film has a touch too many scenes of near-capture and escape to sustain the drama. Also the film (understandably) lends a lot of respect to the Aborigines – giving them a sense of mysticism that they maybe don't deserve. This is a slight problem when a key action involves a hawk that is supposedly summoned by their mothers (or something!). However these are minor complaints given the sweeping emotion of the film and the sheer power of the story.

    The production and direction are excellent. Noyce has created a beautiful vision of the Australian Outback that really feeds the film. However the sound is also superb. Rhythmic footsteps ring out, crunching and banging of the landscape – it works best in a cinema I guess but it adds to the dramatic feel of the film, even if some sudden noises caused me to jump without any reason in the scene to do so.

    The cast are mixed but are important where it matters. Sampi is amazing as Molly. She carries the film with her strength but also little facial expressions that reveal that she is a child, reveal her strength and tell so very much. Both Sansbury and Monaghan also do well but not as well as the lead. Branagh is also perfectly pitched. Neville could easily have been overplayed as a hammy villain of the piece but here he is played just right – he is a real man and we are left to decide for ourselves what to make of him. Some of the cast are average – some of the children in the camp can't act and the majority of the white police officers are maybe a shade too much caricatured as evil men who dislike the blacks.

    Overall this film may struggle to draw the Friday night crowd just looking for a bit of escapism of a weekend, but it is still well worth a look. It is beautifully shot and uses the Australian landscape to great effect complimenting the enormity and emotion of the terrible, terrible true story. Not exactly cheerful or uplifting but a powerful story that deserves 90 minutes of your time.
    helpful•31
    7
    • bob the moo
    • Nov 8, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 31, 2003 (United States)
      • Australia
      • Hanway Films
      • English
      • Aboriginal
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Rumbalara Films
      • The Australian Film Commission
      • Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 34 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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