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Clip description
Tanya (Rachel Griffiths) chases the child welfare officers (Malcolm Kennard and Jan Friedl) away, after they have come to check up on Amy (Alana De Roma). Amy is being home-schooled, but the welfare officers say they have had reports of neglect and malnutrition. When Tanya brandishes a pitchfork, they leave to get a warrant.
Curator’s notes
There’s a distinct similarity about this scene to Russell Drysdale’s famous 1945 painting, The Drover’s Wife. The clues are the absolutely flat landscape and the long dress worn by Rachel Griffiths. Drysdale’s painting is a statement of indomitability in the face of drought. The scene is about a similar refusal to be defeated – only this time the threat is from the meddling hands of the government. In the next scene, Tanya packs up and takes Amy to live in Melbourne.
