RABBIT-PROOF FENCE (2002)I had a teacher in film school who often stated that there was nothing to be said in cinema that couldn’t be said in genre cinema. I don’t know that that’s entirely true but I do know that genre films often carry a surprising amount of depth beyond their crowd-pleasing, sometimes formulaic premises. It turns out the familiar and sturdy structure of a horror film, a detective story, a war movie, etc. can provide a backbone for some serious pondering on issues social, political and otherwise. Philip Noyce is a director who’s made his highest profile films – and probably most of his money – delivering big-budget action movies (Patriot Games, The Saint, Salt). With Rabbit-Proof Fence, he puts that training to good use, creating a propulsive thriller that’s also an eye-opener to an international audience largely unaware of Australia’s history of persecuting its aboriginal natives. Like Mel Gibson’s film about the self-destruction of an empire, Apocalypto, Rabbit-Proof Fence is a chase movie and, at a lean 94 minutes, it doesn’t need to be much else. But it is a lot more. It’s the true story of two aborigine girls in the 1930’s who make their way on foot across the vast continent back to the home they were taken from, all while being pursued by the government, the police and even one of their own. This is a film that will stir your sense of humanity and justice while at the same time quickening your pulse.
