Review of Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) by Lisa R — 27 Jan 2008

The Rabbit Proof Fence is based on the true story of three Australian aboriginal children that were removed from their home by the Australian government. The three girls were part of what was known as the ?Stolen Generation.? From the 1880?s until the 1960?s it was policy for the Australian government to remove aboriginal children from their tribes and relocate them to a boarding school. Once in this boarding school, they were forced to speak English, worship God, and learn how to become servants for the upper class. The attempt at acculturation of the Australian aborigines by the Australian government is captured in this film. This film shows how the human spirit will not be changed due to the laws of certain governments.

The film begins by showing children of the Jigalong people hunting with their mother. They are exhibiting their survival skills by hunting and tracking. The group catches their prey and return to their camp for their feast. The next scene shows the mother of the Jigalong group going to the Depot to receive rations from the government. The man passing out the rations says the chief protector, Mr. Neville, has been inquiring about her children. The mother takes the rations and tells the man to tell Mr. Neville that he need not worry about her children. As the woman leaves the Depot to return to her children, a car approaches to take the children away. The mother screams for the children to run, but the children, Molly, Daisy, and Gracie, are captured. The children are taken 1200 miles away from their home to a boarding school.

The movie goes onto show the girl?s unbelievable journey back home. It truly shows the human spirit, once determined can endure just about anything. There is a part in the film that really touched me that had to do with an eagle. In the beginning of the film, the mother of the girls points at an eagle, and explains to Molly that the eagle will always look after and protect her. Once Molly and her sister had been on their journey for over a month, and collapsed from exhaustion an eagle appeared. The eagle seemed to give Molly the strength to continue her journey. In Molly?s culture the eagle is a symbol that gave her the will to go on.