Movie Review: Rabbit-Proof Fence

This was an aspirating movie which portrayed three aboriginal young children who lived in Jigalong lead a carefree life with their mother and grandmother. One day, they were force to leave their family and accepted white people’s education in Roore River. Molly, 14-year-old, who was reluctant to submit to their assimilation policy took two younger sister away and started their 1500 kilos back home journey. On their way home, a tracker was assigned to take them back. Molly had already set up her mind to go home. Hungry as they were and hard time as it was, Molly’s clever decisions helped her sisters escaped from the tracker’s capture. As Molly followed the Rabbit-Proof Fence to find way home, they were at the edge of dying when they across the desert. Finally, Molly and her younger sister successfully overcame every obstacle and saw their mother and grandmother who stretched their arms to welcome them come back home safely.


The Australian aboriginal chief protector imposed the assimilation policy on Australian aboriginal children. He believed that white people was the most superior race and insisted on increasing the percentage of white people’s population. At first, I was glad that the aboriginal children could receive education but to my disappointment, as the children grew up, they did not have equal respect, whereas men worked as labor farmer and women worked as servant for the white family. However, Japan had ever imposed assimilation but its goal was to have Taiwanese people be loyal to the Japanese Mikado. Though as the Taiwanese children went to school, they were been separated from the Japanese children which might be seemed as discrimination, the difference was that Japanese chief did not intend to make Taiwanese children become labor or servant when they grew up.


What impressed me most was whenever the tracker appeared and the three young children had almost been caught. Every moment, I hold my breath and blessed that they won’t be caught. The tracker’s eye was as sharp as eagle, his smell was as smart as dog and his brain was as clever as owl. But Molly was wiser than the tracker. First, she observed the weather and waited until it rain which could cleanse their footprints. Later on, Molly walked in the river to have their footprints vanish. Later, as they were almost caught at Mavis’s home, Molly used a broom to erase their footprints so as to pretend that they had escaped for at least one hour but actually, they lay on the bush. Next, Molly wore socks on the stones to make vague footprints. How alert Molly was! She did not make decision on impulse but acted before she thought it twice. In such a tough situation, even as for me, I could not calm myself down! Molly did a great job and finally went back home.