# Saw Picnic at Hanging Rock for the first time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264 "2004-02-09T13:57:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/1 "2004-02-09T13:57:12Z")
Wow. Gorgeous movie. Incredibly subtle, atmospheric. I suppose the restrained pace of the film borders on tedious in spots, but the overall effect became hypnotic for me. I wish to pick people’s brains about one aspect of the ending: When the older fella comes in to tell the head mistress that the orphan girl fell from a window, she (the head mistress) is dressed in mourning. Am I dense, or is this meant to be overtly ambiguous? We’re given the impression that the girl probably killed herself rather than return to foster care, but why would the old lady already be dressed in black? The possibilities I’ve been chewing on are (a) she pushed the girl out the window (a mercy killing of sorts?), (b) she just knew that in her heart the girl would likely do this, or even © the mourning dress was a delayed reaction to the missing girls. Any thoughts? I’m hoping all of Peter Weir’s films are this lush and enigmatic; I’ve yet to see any others. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/2 "2004-02-09T17:24:25Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#): > > I’m hoping all of Peter Weir’s films are this lush and enigmatic; I’ve yet to see any others. Peter Weir is probably the director whose work I enjoy the most, and _Picnic at Hanging Rock_ is one of his best films. They’re not all as enigmatic as that one, but they are all unique, and most of them are quite good. You might also try _The Last Wave_, _The Year of Living Dangerously_, and my personal favorite of his, _Fearless_. The latter is one of my favorite films ever made, perhaps _the_ favorite. As to your spoiler question, I’d say the most likely answer is ©, but I also think it’s deliberately ambiguous in the regard, as so much of that film is. ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/3 "2004-02-09T17:53:10Z")
Thanks for the recs.! This current flick based on the Patrick O’Brian novels is Weir’s too, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/4 "2004-02-09T18:39:11Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#): > > This current flick based on the Patrick O’Brian novels is Weir’s too, yes? Yes… _Master and Commander_ is also a Peter Weir movie, though I’m ashamed to say I haven’t yet seen it. The night I wanted to see that, my wife was bound and determined to see _The Last Samurai_. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/5 "2004-02-09T20:19:42Z")
Hmmmm, it’s been a while since I’ve seen "Hanging Rock,’ but didn’t the headmistress have some unspoken grudge against the orphan girl? Throughout the story, she singles the orphan out for cruel punishments and her irrational dislike of the girl only grows worse after the mysterious disappearance of the girls. I think the headmistress went over the edge and pushed the girl out the window, which would explain the mourning clothes. Just my personal interpretation (the movie does lend itself to that!), but I always assumed it was a vaguely homophobic reaction by the headmistress; she had (for that time) inexplicable “carnal thoughts” about the girl, couldn’t deal with them, and blamed the girl herself for “causing” the thoughts. It would fit in with the subtext of the film - the “mystery” of women’s sexuality (the adolescent girls rip off their ‘drawers’ and disappear after passing through a phallic-shaped rock opening, etc.) BTW, Cecil did a column on “Picnic at Hanging Rock.” The search engine for column archives is running a bit slow, but when my computer finally drags it up, i’ll post the url. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/6 "2019-04-20T04:10:42Z")
Eh, I’ll revive this Zombie… Watching this for the second time, right now, on TCM. I remember the first time, many years ago, left me with a strange feeling. Wanted to see it again. Nice photography. Couldn’t get my kid interested, even with the promise of scantily clad teen-aged girls… ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/7 "2019-04-20T04:14:33Z")
Love this movie. I watched again today, also. I hate that headmistress. She’s my ideal of a villianess. It’s almost like in the beginning when she’s warning them of the dangers, she’s willing it to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/8 "2019-04-20T04:19:32Z")
You and your ‘time change’, Rebecca! :shakes fist: ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/9 "2019-04-20T04:21:15Z")
I just have to be first. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/10 "2019-04-20T04:39:21Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I just have to be first. Sorry. So, how does it end? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/11 "2019-04-20T04:58:34Z")
Definitely a film that made a serious impression on me when I saw it years ago. Atmospheric and very definitely with an ambiguous ending. I will also recommend The Last Wave. Very much in the same vein. The Year of Living Dangerously is another one I recall making a strong impression on me when I saw it but that was years ago. Curious how it holds up. Dead Poets and Truman Show are good but get a bit schmaltzy for my taste. Master and Commander is one of my favorite films of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/12 "2019-04-20T05:12:03Z")
Not as good as I remember… Very beautiful, but painfully boring. Fell asleep…, ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/13 "2019-04-20T05:13:10Z")
Aw, man you missed the best part. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/14 "2019-04-20T05:18:40Z")
I always do. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/15 "2019-04-20T05:24:33Z")
I did get to hear the narrator say, ‘Spazmodicly’. So, that’s something… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/16 "2019-04-20T17:02:16Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Couldn’t get my kid interested, even with the promise of scantily clad teen-aged girls… You mean the false promises? One of the things I recall from the movie (seen once, maybe 20 years ago) was everyone in full billowy white dresses. BTW, looks like this movie [didn’t avoid reboot mania](https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/first-review-picnic-at-hanging-rock-is-dazzling/news-story/fdcb0b83f119b43a874d6171a4d4dcc1). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-picnic-at-hanging-rock-for-the-first-time/228264/17 "2019-04-20T20:37:33Z")
I saw _PAHR_ in high school and still remember its vaguely nightmarish, unsettling tone more than anything else. > [@Avalonian](#): > > Yes… _Master and Commander_ is also a Peter Weir movie, though I’m ashamed to say I haven’t yet seen it. The night I wanted to see that, my wife was bound and determined to see _The Last Samurai_. :rolleyes: _Master and Commander_ is terrific (far better than _The Last Samurai_ IMHO), and I hope you’ve seen it by now!