Picnic At Hanging Rock

Picnic at Hanging Rock. (1975)

 Pete Weir

The story explores the disappearance of three girls who after climbing a rock in the Australian bush vanish mysteriously. The film then goes into searching for the answers but leaves the explanation up in the air.

 

I have seen this film twice now. The first time it scared me I was young and my imagination played with the idea of where the girls went to. The bush is a huge part of our country, it can be beautiful but also very dangerous. On my second viewing recently, I picked up on the subtle statements Weir was making throughout the film after passing the fright of the first viewing. I like the commentary Weir presents on the Australian culture in this film. I believe the mystery comes from the original bok written by Joan Lindsay

 

Visually the story speaks for itself. It heavily juxtaposes the restricted English colonial way of life through the way the girls live, dress and behave with the wild ruggedness of the Australian landscape. The film opens on tight framed shots of the girls getting ready for the day brushing their hair and putting on layers of their dresses. Most shots are reflected in mirrors or hidden behind foreground and distanced from the audience. With this he creates the view of just how out of place the restricted culture of the “British boarding school” way of life juxtaposed the ideals and nature of the country.

 

I believe the girls disappearance is a statement about the nature of Australian’s and their adaptation to their country. These girls see the restricted way of life does not adapt to their habitat. When they embrace the possibility of its freedom they are taken away to show the audience how much the others do not fit and how they would need to change to understand. Hence we are not left with an answer because their reactions to the girl’s disappearance is our answer.

 

All in all on the second viewing and closer look I could appreciate the cleverness of the film that Weir has used the screen to illuminate in abstract ways.