(2002)

 

A film based on the book by Mollyâs daughter

DORIS PILKINGTON GARIMARA

 

A Critical Review and Bibliography

 

Credits

Directed by·                                  PHILLIP NOYCE

Screenplay by·                               CHRISTINE OLSEN

Produced by·                                 PHILLIP NOYCE,         CHRISTINE OLSEN

Producer·                                      JOHN WINTER

Executive Producers·                     DAVID ELFICK, JEREMY THOMAS, KATHLEEN McLAUGHLIN

Cinematographer·                         CHRISTOPHER DOYLE

Edited by·                                     JOHN SCOTT, VERONIKA JENET

Production Designer &

Costume Designer·                       ROGER FORD

Childrenâs Drama Coach·              RACHAEL MAZA

Music by·                                      PETER GABRIEL

Music Arranged & Mixed by·          RICHARD EVANS,               DAVID RHODES

Sound Designer·                                    CRAIG CARTER

Supervising Sound Editor·             JOHN PENDERS

 

Cast

Molly Craig·                                  EVERLYN SAMPI

Daisy Craig·                                  TIANNA SANSBURY

Gracie Fields·                               LAURA MONAGHAN

Mr A.O. Neville·                            KENNETH BRANAGH

Moodoo·                                        DAVID GULPILIL

Mollyâs Mother·                             NINGALI LAWFORD

Mollyâs Grandmother·                    MYARN LAWFORD

Constable Riggs·                           JASON CLARKE

Mavis·                                          DEBORAH MAILMAN

Dormitory Boss (Nina)·                  NATASHA WANGANEEN

Mr. Neal·                                      GARRY McDONALD

Police Inspector·                           ROY BILLING

Miss Thomas·                               LORNA LESLIE

Miss Jessop·                                CELINE O'LEARY

Matron·                                        KATE ROBERTS

Moodooâs Daughter·                      TRACY MONAGHAN

Escaped Girl (Olive)·                     TAMARA FLANAGAN

Kangaroo Hunter·                         DAVID NGOOMBUJARRA

The Fence Builder·                        ANTHONY HAYES

Depot Manager·                            ANDREW S. GILBERT

Gracieâs Mother·                           SHERYL CARTER

Wiluna Liar·                                  HEATH BERGERSEN

Moore River Policeman·                 TREVER JAMIESON

First Farm Mother·                        EDWINA BISHOP

Farm Daughter·                             KERILEE MEURIES

Car Driving Policeman·                  ANDREW MARTIN

Fence Worker·                               KEN RADLEY

Mr Evans·                                     DON BARKER

Mrs Evans·                                   CARMEL JOHNSON

Policeman at Railway·                  DAVID BUCHANAN

Policeman at Evansâ Farmhouse·   RICHARD CARTER

Jigalong Mother·                           FIONA GREGORY 

Tommy Grant·                               REGGIE WANGANEEN

Woman In Queue·                         GLENYS SAMPI

First Dormitory Girl·                     KIZZY FLANAGAN

Second Dormitory Girl·                  ANTONIA SAMPI

Aboriginal Hunter·                        MAURICE KELLY

Jigalong Extras·                            JANGANPA GROUP

Singing Women at Jigalong·           ELSIE THOMAS

                                                      ROSIE GOODJI

                                                      JEWESS JAMES

                                                      JANGANPA GROUP

 

Distributors

Ocean Pictures/REP (Australia)

Becker Entertainment (Australia)

HanWay Films (international sales)

Miramax Films (USA)

Miramax Films (Canada/ South America/ United Kingdom/ Italy)

 

Runtime: 97 min

Rated: PG (Australia)

 

Release Dates and Box Office Information

á      Rabbit-Proof Fence opened nation-wide on February 21st 2002, on 100 screens.

á      It grossed $1,245,454 (AUD) in its first week

á      After 10 weeks it had grossed $6,091,234 (AUD)

á      U.S. release 21st June 2002 (LA/NY)

á      U.K. release 30th August 2002

á      Argentina release 19th September 2002

 

Awards and nominations: N/A

 

Interviews with the filmmakers

There are a large number of interviews with Phillip Noyce, and some of them can be found at:

http://www.abc.net.au/arts/film/stories/s488231.htm

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=5770&s=Interviews

http://www.abc.net.au/arts/film/stories/s488231.htm

http://www.ayn.ca/news/0203/rabbit_proof.htm

Interviews with the crew can be found at:

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/2002/02/01/FFX9NKXU4XC.html

 

Reviews

Not surprisingly, many critics have had their say about the film. Some of the reviews can be found at:

http://www.branaghcompendium.com/rpf.html http://observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,647930,00.html

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/film_reviews/article_985.asp?s=1

http://www.anglicanmediasydney.asn.au/cul/rabbitproof.htm

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/RabbitProofFence-10000853/reviews.php http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/film/s485339.htm

http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,3823911%255E7622%255E%255Enbv,00.html

http://www.darkhorizons.com/reviews/rabbit-n.htm

 

Collecting the information

Since the film is so freshly made, I found it really difficult finding hard copy material, such as books and journals. The book on which the film was based, as well as Pat Jacobsâs ãMister Neville, a biographyä (1990) was unfortunately not available, so I had to relay on the internet for my research. While searching the World Wide Web, I found more material than I could work with. Most of the information was reviews, which I was mentioning earlier. The official website http://www.rabbitprooffence.com.au/ provided lots of useful information and interesting stories around the making of the film. The whole story about how the scrip was written and developed, which took about five years, and how Phillip Noyce thought Olsen was a lunatic calling him at home in the middle of the night, can be read at http://www.rabbitprooffence.com.au/news/MollyStory.html

This story like other stories about the film and the making of the film are linked from the official website which also lists a number of reviews from sources as:

á      The Age

á      Herald Sun

á      Courier Mail

á      Ainât It Cool

á      Urban Cinefile

á      Sunday Program

á      Cumberland Press

á      Adelaide Advertiser

á      The West Australian

á      Hollywood Reporter

á      Sunday Mail, QLD

á      Sunday Mail, SA

á      International Movie Database (IMDB)

 

Other useful websites:

Urban Cinefile http://www.urbancinefile.com.au

IMDB Website http://www.imdb.com

 

Synopsis

Rabbit-Proof Fence is the true story of Molly Craig, her younger sister Daisy and cousin Gracie, three young Aboriginal girls who was forcibly separated from their families on the orders of Mr. O.A. Neville, Western Australia's Chief Protector of Aboriginals, in 1931.

Mr. Neville, or ãMr. Devilä as the Aborigines call him, is a very proud and noble man with rather distinctive believes. He refers to the half-casts as an ãunwanted third raiseä which needs to be helped into the white culture and society. Due to this, Molly, Daisy and Gracie are to be taken to Moore River Native Settlement, an internment camp, set up as part of a government policy to train Aboriginal children as domestic workers and integrate them into white society. When Mollyâs mother hears about this, she says with a smile; ãif he want half-casts ö he make his own.ä

 

After fighting desperately to get away from the police, Molly, Daisy and Gracie are with violence snatched from their mothersâ arms and pushed into the police car. Many hours later they end up in Moore River at the Native Settlement. They are told this is their new home, and are forbidden to speak their own language.

As the days go on, Molly dislikes the place and its people more and more. A desire to go home to her mother grows inside of her and one day she has had enough. She leads Daisy and Gracie in an escape from Moore River. With an outstanding determination and amazing strength Molly guides the girls on an epic journey, one step ahead of the authorities, over 1,500 miles of Australia's outback in search of the rabbit-proof fence that cuts across the continent and will lead them back home to their mother in Jigalong.

 

Personal Review

I think Noyce and Olsen managed to tell the story in an excellent way, providing angles from different peoples point of view. Mollyâs of course, but also Mr. Nevilleâs (Kenneth Branagh). In his believes the ultimate way of living was the way he lived his life, serving the country as a dedicated worker. And he was determined to help the Aborigines. One of his statements goes: ãIf they would only understand what we are trying to do for them·ä That line speaks for itself, he just didnât know better.

 

Moodoo (David Gulpilil) is another interesting character. Although with very few lines, his facial expressions tells everything we need to know. During the hunt, he seem to develop a bond with Molly, and with his only line in the film; ãSheâs pretty clever that girl. She wants to go home.ä

 

Considering that the children have had no acting training whatsoever, all three are doing a fairly good job. Yet there were some parts in the film in which I felt the emotions failed to match the action/drama. Especially in the separation scene, which to me seemed a bit inconvenient. It could have been both longer and more dramatic, or at least have two policemen getting the children, to make it more realistic.

 

Otherwise the film was really good overall and absolutely worth watching. The very best bit, I found is to see those women still alive in the end and hear them talk. This makes the whole film even trustworthier.

 

Critical Uptake

Rabbit-Proof Fence is one of those films that really open up for discussion. Almost everyone who has seen the film has something to say about it.

For me the partly unfamiliar story was a bit shocking. The way the government treated and looked down at the Aboriginal lifestyle and culture was absolutely terrible. During the first half of the 20th century, it was official policy in most states to remove half or quarter cast Aboriginal children and put them in white homes. This practice continued until the early 1970s.

This is a dark section in the Australian history, yet the story needs to be told. This is however a very sensitive topic. The reception in Australia has been mostly positive. Some critics have accused the film for being slow and predictable, but how could it not be predictable· it is a true story.

 

Some Comments

 

 

ãRabbit-Proof Fence has been made with such transparent humanity and idealism it scarcely seems to matter whether the story is true or not.ä

 

-Evan Williams, The Australian,
         February 23, 2002

 

 

ãThe photography is superb, with Christopher Doyle giving the harsh Australian outback a personality of its own, while the haunting score is complementary
without being overpowering.ä

        

-Scott Abrahams, Cumberland Press

 

 

ãParts of Rabbit Proof Fence do manage to engage and the ending ... is especially affecting. But Noyce's methods never move far from the mundane: hand-held camera for moments of high intensity, characters running towards embraces in slow motion, intrusive arty clichŽs.ä
        

-Tom Ryan, The Age,

February 2002

 

 

 

Production

Production started on September 18th, 2000 in and near Adelaide, Australia on a budget of $10,5 million (AUD), and wrapped in November 2000. Funded by Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC) [au] and distributed in Australia by Becker Entertainment [au] (Australian co-distributor) and Ocean Pictures Pty. Limited [au] (Australian co-distributor).

On the official website, all the information about the making of the film can be found, and even Mollyâs and Dorisâs stories. This website is as interesting as the film. It provides all the information needed for an understanding of the Story, the Truth and the Journey. For more tutorial-friendly material a Rabbit-proof Fence Study guide is to be found at:

http://www.metromagazine.com.au/metro/03/images/Rabbit-proofFence.pdf

 

Prior work of the Filmmakers

For Christine Olsen, this was her debut as a feature film scriptwriter and producer. She has a documentary background and has directed and produced some short films.

 

Christine Olsen Filmography

 

Phillip Noyce on the other hand, has been in the business for a long time. However, the director of Australian classics like Newsfront (1978) and Dead Calm (1989) before going to the US to make blockbusters such as Clear And Present Danger (1994), Patriot Games (1992) and The Bone Collector (1999), has not worked with an Australian film for 12 years!

Backroads (1977) was his first feature film, but he has been making short films and documentaries since high school.

 

Phillip Noyce Filmography

á      Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), Director, Producer

á      The Quiet American (2002), Director

á      The Bone Collector (1999), Director

á      The Saint (1997), Director

á      Clear and Present Danger (1994), Director

á      Sliver (1993), Director

á      Patriot Games (1992), Director

á      Blind Fury (1990), Director

á      Dead Calm (1989), Director

á      Echoes of Paradise (1989), Director

á      Heatwave (1983), Director, Screenplay

á      Newsfront (1978), Director, Screenplay

á      Backroads (1977), Director, Producer, Screenplay

á      Let the Balloon Go (1976), Second Assistant Director

á      The Golden Cage (1975), Assistant Director

 

John Winter Filmography

á      Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), Producer

á      My Mother Frank (2000), Producer

á      Paperback Hero (1998), Producer

á      Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997), Producer

á      Turning April (1996), Co-Producer

á      Vacant Possession (1995), Producer

á      The Roly Poly Man (1994), Line Producer

á      No Worries (1993), Associate Producer

á      Love in Limbo (1993), Co-Producer

... aka Just One Night (1993)

 

Finding the Girls

In the search for three Aboriginal unknown bush kids to take the lead roles, Noyce and casting agent Christine King spent nearly three months in four-wheel drives combing Australian towns and cities, Aboriginal centres and outback settlements. After 12,000 interviews, 13-year-old Everlyn Sampi was chosen to play the main character, Molly; eight-year-old Tianna Sansbury as her sister Daisy; and Laura Monaghan, 10, as their cousin Gracie.

 

Position of Australian Film and Value

Since the film only has been released in Australia, no information of its value and achievements overseas is available.

 

What can be said is that Rabbit Proof Fence is an example of an ãobviousä Australian national cinema. The plot, the story could not been someone elseâs. Besides I donât think any other country would dare to raise such a sensitive topic and humiliate the Australian government.

Then of course, it is the outstanding landscape, a typical event in Australian national cinema, and Australian national cinema is described as a medium sized English language cinema.

Now, the questions remaining: will the film achieve anything overseas? Will the story be spread?

 

·Children who were taken in this way are now referred to as the ÎStolen Generationâ. We must never forget·

 

 

By Anna Branden,

H231 ö Australian Cinema,

Murdoch University, 2002