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Alvy
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 Posted 06-21-03 06:09 AM   
Just saw Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975) for the first time. Anyone interested in sharing their thoughts on the film?
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Jeffrey Overstreet
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Posted 06-21-03 08:36 AM
When I saw this, I realized that "Dead Poet's" is almost a sequel.
It's about so many things... but mainy seems to be about the difference between approaching life with fear and approaching it with awe and courage. This has implications about the confining and controlling aspects of civilisation versus the freedom and seeming-chaos of nature, about sexual insecurity and sexual freedom, about the emptiness of mere knowledge and the riches of childlike faith...
This is one of my favorite films, and one of Weir's very best. I love that Weir refuses to solve the mystery for us. Without that the film wouldn't work or have the haunting quality that it does.
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"You could see the sea if you could see it." - Luis Guzman in The Limey
Looking Closer
also ranting about BOB DYLAN at: Music and Spirituality Discussion Board
and listening to the latest KATHLEEN EDWARDS, MASSIVE ATTACK, BRUCE COCKBURN, RADIOHEAD.
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Darrel Manson
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Posted 06-21-03 09:21 AM
I'm fond of Weir. One of his common devices is placing people out of their element. (I really like how he does it doubly in Witness.) In Picnic, obviously it is taking refinement into the wilderness -- or dealing with the rawness of nature.
FWIW, Weir's newest, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is due out in Novemeber. I'm looking forward to it (even if it is Russell Crowe).
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The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
-Bertrand Russell
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Alvy
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Posted 06-21-03 10:18 AM
Darrel Manson wrote:
I'm fond of Weir. One of his common devices is placing people out of their element. (I really like how he does it doubly in Witness.) In Picnic, obviously it is taking refinement into the wilderness -- or dealing with the rawness of nature.
Yes, the contrast was especially evident in Picnic, particularly in the early scenes as they are leaving the school and approaching the rock.
And yet the girls, in their ethereal white dresses, were quite in their element out in the wilderness (the striking visual parallel with the swans reinforces this). I suppose that ties in with the theme of "childlike faith" Jeffrey mentioned.
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Alvy
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Posted 06-21-03 10:19 AM
There is another question the film raised, only arbitrarily related to the film itself, however, which I'll bring up on a separate thread.
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Andrew
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Posted 06-21-03 12:42 PM
I didn't know Peter Weir was helming Master and Commander. For those who aren't aware, this film is based on a part of the 20-book Aubrey/Maturin series, set in the Napoleonic era and depicting the adventures and relationships of a British sea captain and his ship's Irish surgeon/intelligence agent. The books, by the late Patrick O'Brian, were terrific; I hope Weir does them justice.
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"We've got all this technology available, and it's our duty to abuse it."
- Bono
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Darrel Manson
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Posted 06-21-03 06:03 PM
quote:
Andrew wrote:
I didn't know Peter Weir was helming Master and Commander.
Let me issue the offical groan.
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The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
-Bertrand Russell
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John Adair
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Posted 06-21-03 09:38 PM
I recently saw this for the first time as well, and was struck with two things that I can sort of articulate at this point. I am filled with a myriad of others that I haven't yet been able to get down on paper.
One was the overwhelming sense of mystery associated with these events, and the way Weir presents it only serves to enhance this. It reminds me to consider the mystery of our own world, a world that I too often feel I have figured out.
***possible spoilers***
The other was the strong sense of connection to Dead Poets Society. This especially struck me near the end when Sara (I think that's the right name) has left her room for some as yet unexplained reason, and there is an overhead shot of her empty bed. The music, the setting, and the overall feel of that moment reminded me of the final scenes of Poets, when Neil is at home, having just argued with his parents.
I am also aware that this movie is about so much more. Clearly there is a richness to it that I have yet to really comprehend, although I'm sure that repeated viewings will help with that. I look forward to seeing it again soon.
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Andrew
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Posted 06-22-03 05:45 AM
Thanks, Darrel -- does this mean I have to walk the plank?
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"We've got all this technology available, and it's our duty to abuse it."
- Bono
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MLeary
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Posted 06-23-03 11:22 AM
We had a good thread on this a while back. It may be worth digging up.
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"You should look straight at a film; that's the only way to see one. Film is not the art of scholars but of illiterates." (Herzog)
The Matthews House Project
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