Reviewed by Dina Di Maio

I have to say it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie that moved me. When a friend suggested we see Rabbit Proof Fence, my response was, "What’s that?" I hadn’t heard of the Australian indy film but my friend’s description piqued my curiosity. It is the true story of Molly Craig, adapted from the book, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, written by her daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara in 1996.

The story follows Molly (Everlyn Sampi), a half white, half-Aborigine girl from Jigalong in Western Australia. She, her sister Daisy (Tianna Sansbury) and cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan) are taken to live in orphanages for children who are half-white, half-Aborigine, a program started in Australia where the Chief Protector of Aborigines, A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), was in charge of the "half-castes." His desire was to eventually breed the Aborigine out of their offspring and assimilate them into white society. This generation of children, who were taken to these orphanages until 1970, is known as the Stolen Generation. Indeed, their lives were stolen as they were torn from their mothers and families to live in these homes and often became servants.

In Rabbit Proof Fence, Molly initiates escape from the Moore River settlement, bringing Daisy and Gracie with her. The movie follows their long trek home, 1500 miles from the settlement where they are held. Molly is shown as a resourceful, headstrong girl who knows to cover up her tracks. In fact, she plans to run just before a storm so that the rain will cover their tracks. She is determined to find the well-known rabbit proof fence (erected in 1901 to control the rabbit problem in Australia and the world’s longest fence) that will lead her home. Across desert and through storms, the girls travel and have some close calls, nearly getting caught. In the end, they reach their destination and Molly is reunited with her mother. But what happens later is the beauty of this film and the travesty of what is surely the biggest skeleton in Australia’s closet.

In all, director Philip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, The Bone Collector) has created a beautiful, emotional film.

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