Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Originally written: 9/17/04

Director Phillip Noyce spent months scouring the back-country of Australia to find his three young actors, and the effort certainly paid off. Their understated, credible performances drive this film which poignantly tells the Australian portion of much larger, global tale concerning the West's imperialism and disdainful belief in a "white man's burden." Be sure to watch the "making of" featurette to see the commitment Noyce, a very Hollywood director, put forth in a project that was obviously a labor of love.

Noyce's camera never gets in the way of the story. He is smart enough to realize that this is a character-driven film, and his ability to hold his camera at bay (especially considering his past films) is just as important a decision as any he made on this project.

Peter Gabriel wrote a tremendous score for this film, drawing on some of his earlier work in addition to writing a soundtrack that he hoped would sound "like it was coming from the earth".