Story
A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), ‘Chief Protector of Aborigines’, believes he is doing the right thing by removing ‘half-caste’ children from their Aboriginal mothers and placing them in detention centres. In these centres, the children learn to speak English, pray and do domestic duties or manual labour. Neville’s intention is to eliminate the ‘mixed race’ by ‘breeding the Aboriginal out of future generations’.
Meanwhile, Molly (Everlyn Sampi), Gracie (Tianna Sansbury) and Daisy (Laura Monoghan), 3 young ‘half-caste’ girls, live happily with their mob out near Jigalong. The girls love their family and people. They also have a deep understanding of their culture and heritage, plus tremendous skills that will prove invaluable in the weeks ahead.
Violently removed from their mothers’ arms, the girls are taken to the Moore River Native Settlement over 1000 kilometres away. Missing home, Molly is especially unhappy with how they’re forced to live. She and the younger 2 girls escape the camp, determined to find their way back.
The girls must rely on their wits, the kindness of strangers and their inner strength as they follow the rabbit-proof fence. During their journey, they must outwit a relentless tracker, (David Gulpilil) whose job is to return them to the camp, and avoid the police and everyone else who might turn them in.
Themes
Children separated from parents; children alone in the desert; the stolen generation; abuse; survival; betrayal; discrimination; racism; prejudice; government-sponsored racial and cultural annihilation
Violence
Rabbit-Proof Fence has some violence. For example:
- A car chases down the 3 young girls with their mothers, and the man forcibly takes the girls and puts them in the car.
- The girls are kept locked in a cage, like animals, while being transported by train.
- If anyone leaves the camp or disobeys, they’re taken into a house and beaten.
- The workers in the camp threaten the girls if they don’t obey them.
- A man violently hits a tabletop with a stick and shouts at Daisy to eat her food.
- When a girl runs away, the tracker brings her back. When she comes back to the camp, we hear her being beaten for leaving. She is later seen crying in a locked shed. Her hair has been chopped off.
- Daisy is shown with large cuts all over her legs.
- Gracie is found at the train station. She is chased and grabbed by 2 men who put her in a car and take her away.
- A man confronts 2 Aboriginal women. He has a gun, and they have a spear. He runs away before anything happens.
Sexual references
Rabbit-Proof Fence has some sexual references. For example, Molly’s mother says to a man that if Mr Devil wants a half-caste kid, he should make his own.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Rabbit-Proof Fence has no use of substances.
Nudity and sexual activity
Rabbit-Proof Fence has no nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- The girls are in an outdoor shower, and a woman washes them to make sure they’re clean.
- A man comes to visit an Aboriginal woman who’s sheltering the girls. They are in her bed when he comes into the room one night and begins taking off his pants. When he sees them in the bed, he collects his pants and shoes and walks out. The girls are about to run off when the woman who’s helping them begs them not to go. She cries as she says to them, ‘If you go, he will come back’.
- Aboriginal women sit in a circle, singing. A few have bare breasts.
Product placement
There’s no product placement in Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Coarse language
Rabbit-Proof Fence has some coarse language, including racist words.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a true story based on the book by Molly’s daughter, Doris Pilkington Garimara. It’s a haunting drama that allows viewers a glimpse into a dark time in Australian history and offers a powerful illustration of the resilience of the human spirit.
Because of its themes, Rabbit-Proof Fence isn’t a family movie. Rather, it’s a movie best suited to viewers aged over 12 years.
The main messages from Rabbit-Proof Fence are that the bonds that connect you to your family, culture and land cannot easily be broken or changed. They live inside you, no matter where you go or how far away you are. One way or another, they’ll lead you home.
Values in Rabbit-Proof Fence that you could reinforce with your children include determination, courage, ingenuity, compassion, fortitude and resilience.
Rabbit-Proof Fence could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the:
- unfair and unjust treatment of Aboriginal people
- importance of treating all people kindly and not discriminating against people
- unjustness of the Aborigines Act, which allowed one group to have absolute control over the lives of another group
- belief that certain people are better based on the colour of their skin
- the practice of stealing children from their parents to eliminate Aboriginal people.