This classic Australia art-cult movie and in part responsible for the tremendous growth and recognition of the Australia film industry has had for the past thirty years literally hanging over its mystery, the linging and haunting question of what happened to the school girls lost at Hanging Rock.


Brett McKenzie argues quite persuasively of the solution based on his interpretation of clues from Joan Lindsay's novel upon which the movie was based. On his website [URL=http://www.mck.com.au/users/brett/picnic.htm ]Personal WEB Site of Brett McKenzie[/URL] he develops a persuasive, logical, consistent theory as to the disappearance of two girls and a teacher at Hanging Rock.

However, the movie version and the director's cut movie version of the book is much more ambiguous.

[Spoilers]

The strange behavior of the girls and their clothing, the disappearance of the older teacher, the almost clairavoyant Miranda, the two watches clock stopping exactly at 12 noon, the reference to Miranda looking like a Botticelli angel, and the eerie connection between Sarah and Bertie, the male protagonist and his strange behavior in his later search for the girls, strongly introduce another much more supernatural component to this movie that is not easily dismissed by the more logical, rational interpretation that Mr. McKenzie proposed of the novel. Since as I recall the movie and novel parallel themselves in so many ways, Peter Weller's directorial interpretation has as much credibility as Mr. McKenzie's. As with all such universal mysteries, one can simply accept in good rational conscience Mr. McKenzie's neatly tied up explanation that he arrived at through meticulous and well thought out deductive and literary construction or one can still retain with good spiritual integrity a much more mystical interpretation without what Mr. McKenzie would suggest would be a degradation of Joan Lindsay's reputation.

Yeah, this is a classic film. What I remember most about it was its ambiguity. You never do learn what happens to the girls.

Peter Weir was part of a bunch of directors that made interesting films like PICNIC before being seduced by Hollywood and turning out some goodies and some pabulum. Other good directors who came of age around the same time as Weir were Bruce Beresford & Fred Schepesi.

The Aussies, to their credit, created a film commission that jump-started the film industry in Australia and many good movies like PICNIC, THE CHANT OF JIMMY BLACKSMITH & THE LAST WAVE (also directed by Peter Weir).

Thanks for the link to Brett McKenzie's site, tabuno. I enjoyed his solution, it makes perfect sense. After I saw Picnic At Hanging Rock for the first time, I found a book on the net entitled "The Murders at Hanging Rock" by Yvonne Rousseau. The author gave several explanations on what might have occured to the missing girls, theories from UFO abduction to time travel to murder by various individuals. The more far fetched the author's theories, the more unreadable the book became.

Such a great movie, now this discussion has me wanting to see it again soon.

I look at this movie more for its themes than for its mystery. The school forced the girls to repress their emotions and sexuality. By exploring the rock they became free. I think the teacher may have finally desired that same freedom or mystery of the rock and she too dissappeared. It has some of the same themes as The Virgin Suicides and Mulholland Dr. A coming of age shown by apparent or real death. That's the feeling I get from watching these films but maybe that wasn't the directors' intent.

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Nathan25 posted:

I look at this movie more for its themes than for its mystery. The school forced the girls to repress their emotions and sexuality. By exploring the rock they became free. I think the teacher may have finally desired that same freedom or mystery of the rock and she too dissappeared. It has some of the same themes as The Virgin Suicides and Mulholland Dr. A coming of age shown by apparent or real death. That's the feeling I get from watching these films but maybe that wasn't the directors' intent.

An interesting interpretation, but the almost hypnotic way in which Peter Weir directed the girls in their final scenes lead me to believe otherwise. Usually, such behavior I would suspect would be proceeded by dialogue that would suggest this inquisitiveness. Yet the girl's lofty pronouncements seem to imply more rather mystic ruminations. However, your idea can't be ruled out and is consistent with Brett McKenzie's solution and adds support to his thesis.

I just thought that I could enlighten a few people out there about the true story of 'A picnic at Hanging Rock'. I attend the school at which the movie was shot and based. And it is a true story, a girl did go missing. Although we know what actually did happen to her. Its competely unimaginative, no UFO or anything like that.

If you dont want to know than dont read on....

Both of the girls parents were divorced and fighting over who should get custody of the child. The girl was placed with her mother, as it was proper back than for this to happen. But the girl longed to be with her father, so they planned it that she would run away at a school picnic and he would meet up with her. She did run, and he did meet up with her and they left together. A change of the name and your set. Thats what actually happened. Anyone at the school will tell you the same story. Although I'll not disclose the name of the school, I can assure you that it has never been known as Applegates or what ever it was. But that is exactly what happened to the Miranda of the movie and novel. ......

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Originally posted by Reviewer:
I attend the school at which the movie was shot and based.

The Appleyard College scenes were filmed at Martindale Hall, a two story mansion at Clare, in the South Australia state. There's no evidence that the story was anything other than the imagination of author Joan Lindsay.

BTW The final chapter of the novel reveals Lindsay's end to the mystery of the ladies' disapearance. That chapter was removed by the publishers and not returned to the book until 1987. I thought it fun that the movie kept the mystery open-ended instead of refering to the final chapter.

I need to watch this one again...I loved "The Last Wave," and thought it had an undercurrent of intangible, yet very strong dread to it...more so than almost all straight-up horror movies. ("Don't Look Now" is another great one that way.) From what I read of Picnic it sounded like it had the same sort of thing going on, but I must not have been in the right mood for it...I found it too subtle and artsy at the time.

Does anyone know what Peter Weir is up to these days?

I would argue Peter Weir has made 10 masterful films, including the eerie and extraordinary 'Picnic.'

He has a new film coming out next year I think.

'Picnic' has been largely forgotten by Australians, particularly the younger generations. It is still studied in film classes, but 'The Last Wave' tends to get more attention.