This movie is based on a true story about the natives of Australia. There existed a program which aimed to assimilate the natives into mainstream. They did this by rehabilitating the children in foster homes and groom them to be housemaids and workers.
The story of this movie revolves around three girls who are displaced from their mothers. They flee their foster home and take on a long walk back home. They set on their journey of 1500 miles on foot. The journey is the triumph of human spirit on all adversities.The rest of the movie is about this journey where they meet people some whom help while some of them try to turn them in. They are being tracked down by a tracker (a native himself on the pay roll of government) and police.
The eldest of the girls gives a stellar performance. The other two girls also give a very believable performance. The Tracker was highly impressive. He hardly opened his mouth and did most of his talking through expressions. I couldnt help but feel that he was a bit pleased with the feat of the girls and was feeling uneasy tracking them. The chief of the program also does a commendable job. He is not a racist by any stretch of imagination but falls to the fatal mistake that we see many educated fall to. He is self righteous and believes it is upto him to bring an upliftment to the natives lives. He goes on to say that ’’ he is saving the aborigines from themselves’’.
The scene where the girls are taken away from their mothers is very moving. The journey through the deserts of australia is captured brilliantly. The music too is apt and folk tunes stay with you even after you have left the theatre. And above all the director has done an excellent job of story telling. He never goes overboard with emotions. The feeling I got was he was very sincere about the film and its story. This kind of film can be only made if the storyteller is completely sincere about his subject and is not just jumping on some sure shot award winning story. The movie is very inspirational, bringing home the truth yet again that nothing is stronger than human spirit. It will beat everything and everybody in its path.