1975 - PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, an enigma wrapped up in a puzzle

Australian director Peter Weir's, film based on a well regarded novel.  Picnic at Hanging Rock is a mysterious film that creates a special mood as the director really saturates the film in a creepy atmosphere amongst the beauty of the rural setting.

At a boarding school for young women in Victoria, Australia three of the girls and one of their teachers mysteriously disappear while on a picnic at a former volcano now something of a scenic location known as Hanging Rock.  The film involves the search for the girls and the attempts by the authorities to unravel what happened at Hanging Rock.

The film seems to focus around one of the girls the mysterious Miranda.  Miranda's roommate Sara has some kind of repressed love for Miranda and the film calls back to Miranda in repeated flashbacks.

 

As the search for the missing girls goes on things at the boarding school begin to disintegrate as the anxiety among the students and faculty increases regarding the situation.  Really to say anything more about the plot would spoil a very good and interesting film. Weir's skill really makes this film absorbing.

 

While he was working, Peter Weir was one of Australia's best directors. His body of work reflects an interesting group of films, The Last Wave, Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, Fearless and The Truman Show to name a few. 

The film was written by Cliff Green, the running time is 115 minutes.