One thing I love about movies: you can learn about things you previously had no idea about. It's dangerous, of course, getting your history on the silver screen, but in the right hands, it can be wonderful.
Phillip Noyce does just that with "Rabbit-Proof Fence." In 1931, three aboriginal girls, half-castes, 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. These girls belong to a what is now known in Australian history as "The Stolen Generations." I never knew.
Under the lead of brave, fierce Molly (Everlyn Sampi), the girls make a long arduous journey across the continent, following 1,500-mile fence separating outback desert from the farmlands of Western Australia. Kenneth Branagh, playing the stubborn policy enforcer, gives a human performance to a character that could have been an evil caricature. But this is the girls' story, and Philip Noyce made a brave decision to make a film with lead roles played by amateur child actors. The atmospheric score by Philip Gabriel fits right in.
Under the lead of brave, fierce Molly (Everlyn Sampi), the girls make a long arduous journey across the continent, following 1,500-mile fence separating outback desert from the farmlands of Western Australia. Kenneth Branagh, playing the stubborn policy enforcer, gives a human performance to a character that could have been an evil caricature. But this is the girls' story, and Philip Noyce made a brave decision to make a film with lead roles played by amateur child actors. The atmospheric score by Philip Gabriel fits right in.
