This film has quite a few remarkable features. First of all is its title which is rather unusual and immediately grabs one's interest. Next there is the fence itself which runs for thousands of miles to protect what few green plants there are in these desert regions from the voracious appetites of millions of wild rabbits. This fence plays an important role in this true story. Then there is the diector who not only scoured the continent to find three suitable aboriginal girls to play theleads but moulded these inexperienced beginners into the believable characters of Molly, Daisy and Gracie. The director Phillip Noyce has achieved remarkable success in creating three good little performers and should be given full credit for his difficult task.

For those who do not know the desert regions of Australia, it must be said that the "outback" country is harsh and cruel and can only be crossed by those with experience...those with a knowledge of the land. I think the camera makes it clear that the hostile environment is very much like a fence in itself...almost impossible to cross. All the more remarkable therefore that these girls accomplished what they set out to do. May be it was a reckless decision they made but thanks to the fence they found their way back to family and friends.

The film is largely a record of the long trek and the manner in which the children are able to survive. There are not many dramatic moments on their journey south. The children are mainly concerned with avoiding the blacktracker who is following them. The most unforgettable scene comes early in the film when the children are forcibly torn from their mothers. This is truly heart-wrenching stuff.

This thoughtful presentation is worth watching. It is part of Australian history.

This is a film about the arrogant superiority of Western culture. It's about a group of people, minding their own business, that must be saved by a government, immersed in Christian pomposity. The children, the heroes of the film, face amazing obstacles, just to return to their lives in the desolate Australian outback. The British governors and their ilk feel they are doing them a favor, setting them up in menial jobs, taking away their culture and their language. But, in this case, the human will is going to challenge that force and attempt to right things. This sort of stuff has been going on for centuries. Those that have the word can't be satisfied with it; they must take away the basic human rights of others and force their beliefs on them.

This film is suspenseful and riveting. It is set in a bleak, arid climate. The rabbit proof fence is there to ward off the overpopulation of rabbits, introduced late to Australia. The fence, of course, is a symbol for separation of cultures. The aborigine population are anathema to the new invaders and, in some ways, equal to the jackrabbits populating their side of the fence. See this movie. It's an eye opener.

In 1931, with the Aborigine Act in Australia, the Chief Protector of Aborigines in the State of Western Australia A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh) had the power to relocate half-caste children from their families to educational centers to give the culture of the white man. When the fourteen year-old aboriginal girl Molly Craig (Everlyn Sampi) is taken from her mother in Jigalong with her eight year-old sister Daisy Kadibill (Tianna Sansbury) and their ten year-old cousin Gracie Fields (Laura Monaghan) to the distant Moore River Native Center, they run away trying to return to the tribe in the desert. They are chased by the skilled tracker Moodoo (David Gulpilil) and the police under the command of Neville, and have to survive to their long journey back home.

"Rabbit-Proof Fence" discloses a shameful part of the Australia contemporary history when the white man tried to force a process of eugenism, following the true saga of three escapees from one "native center" to reach their families in the desert. The story has top-notch performances of the three girls in the lead roles, supported by magnificent direction, cast and screenplay and wonderful music score of Peter Gabriel. I have never read anything about this attempt of constructing a new world of the "civilised" white man that led the Aborigine people to the destruction of their identity, family life and culture during the so-called stolen generations. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Geração Roubada" ("Stolen Generation")