Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Memorable, crazy movie

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This one is the very eerie film by Peter Weir. He is not in the mood to render a judgement on something, rather he is not even asking us to give one. This depiction of his is solely for asking and raising questions. The most prominent comment for this film which tries to teach is "We,humans are not the only species who live on this Earth." All species want to maintain relation with Nature, but who and how keeps it good, matters a lot." The tragedy lies in the film where the director constantly urges viewers to think, ask and visualize what would be the cause behind all the acts? But he simultaneously tries to make ourselves believe that all is the fate of Nature. And thereby, the story keeps on grooving around the characters as a sinister's mystery in their minds. The one message, one tries to take out might be-"One mustn't try to know all the answers, but one must try to find answers by knowing all the questions". The background music is very tense, it helps to build up tension among the viewers. It makes one time sure watch for viewing psychological thriller films.

This is a soft, dreamy showcase of life in rural Australia at the turn of the last century, centred around a group of girls and teachers at a prim boarding school, while it is also an excellent mystery and also a meditation. FYI: It is available on youtube, as are many classic Australian films :)I've always loved movies and books that take place at all-girls schools. I'm kind of a junkie for that kind of thing, so as soon as I learned the premise, I was in. However, this movie goes far beyond just being that. If you are interested in Aboriginal spirituality and have certain ideas and theories about the sacred land of Australia, this movie definitely gives you something to think about. There is a lot of talk on these boards and around the internet about the "secret" behind the mystery, but for me it isn't unresolved at all. It was very obvious to me, being interested in what different spiritual traditions have to say about the nature of time, what happened in this movie. I think it will affect people on different levels depending on how you choose to experience movies in general as well as your capacity for abstract thought. For the record, I don't like movies that deliberately offer no resolve to the mysteries they weave, I really am one for solutions, but it was natural and enjoyable for me to reach my own personal conclusions about what exactly was going on in this movie. It was wonderfully subtle but rich in meaning. The movie is extremely atmospheric and I almost felt myself go into a bit of a trance while watching! I especially love the scene that occurs right before the girls go off for their exploration, while they are sitting in the grass. At this point in the movie, do listen to the wondrous sounds of nature! Crickets and birdsong, the wind in the trees, sounds like that. We need to get out in the natural areas of our own corners of this earth and feel that. It is necessary for our health and wellbeing. This is also a film for nature enthusiasts! In addition, I adored the recitation of poetry and a glimpse of the life of a schoolgirl before the technology age, and outside the hustle bustle of the city. It really makes you realize that it is seriously a shame how addicted young people are to their gadgets, and how wonderfully simple life was at that time. It truly facilitated a love of poetry in the young student that I believe has been lost to modern society. Scary. Finally, I must say that I (like countless others) fell under the spell of the lead girl, Miranda, who is likened just before her disappearance to a Bodicelli Angel. She really is a lovely and special girl.

Peter Weir's mystery drama Picnic At Hanging Rock is the very definition of haunting. It has an intangible, dreamlike atmosphere that is at once beautiful and eerie. Nothing quite like it has crossed my cinematic vision up until this point, and can't believe it took me this long to check it out. The setting s 1900, Australia, a land still very much wild and untamed, although partway colonized by the British. In the hypnotizing opening scene, several angelic young girls in a remote boarding school cast longing, lingering looks out the windows at the horizon, and lyrically recite verses of poetry in the early morning air. They are a naive young bunch, because of the times, and their age. They embark with some of their teachers for a picnic at a local landmark, a labyrinthine plateau called Hanging Rock. Four of the girls become curious in the warmth of the afternoon sun and venture into the maze of stone formations high up on the hill. Three of them are never seen again. The fourth is traumatized by a terror she can remember nothing of. It's a mystery that crawls up your spine and grips you with a need to know, yet left unrequited and empty as the unforgiving outback. Cinematographer Russell Boyd paints gauzy pictures worthy of renaissance art, and navigates the spooky rock formation until we think we see things, feel things, and are within the grasp of answers that the film remains obstinate in giving. He even laid bridal lace over the lens in some scenes to enhance the ethereal tone. A huge part of what makes the film work is the knockout pan flute score by Zhamfir that piles on the atmosphere. A classic of true originality and daring exploration.

Peter Weir's wonderfully evocative and atmospheric film, about the 19th century disappearance of four schoolgirls in the Australian bush, covers issues of Victorian repression, beauty and Aboriginal magic among other things. Probably still Australia's best film and for many years my favourite. The film is slow and dreamy, yet with a strong narrative. This film is a landmark in the history of Australian film-making: it was our first successful art-house film, it was our most sophisticated attempt at cinema to that time, it marked a radical departure from the bush yarns of the 40s and 50s, and from the raucous comedies and rough action flicks of the early 70s, and led to a renaissance in Australian cinema.