At the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, there is a display of various items from Australian films, including the dress worn by Miranda in Picnic at Hanging Rock. It's one of my favourite films and if you've seen it you'll know that Miranda is the pivotal character. Sorry the picture is a bit dark but I think you can make it out.
Is it that great a film? Maybe I just wasn't in the mood when I watched it, but after a good scene setting it drifts into pretentious waffling, without either being a good mystery or a profound philosophical statement.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about atmosphere; the dreamy cinematography and music. The plot is what Hitchcock calls a 'macguffin'. The lack of any solution to the mystery is also a nice touch, as are the many red herrings. There's also some interesting stuff about the naivity of youth coming into conflict with the realities of the adult world. Watch it again with an open mind and you might be pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDeleteWell as I said I wasn't really in the mood at the time, so I might revisit it at another point. I think Peter Weir also did Gallipoli, which was an historical abomination, and Dead Poets Society, about which you used to be something of an inverted snob, if I'm not mistaken ... :-)
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