"Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975) starring Rachael Roberts

Amid lingering images of white-clad girls in whispering voices delighting in Valentine's cards, the character of Miranda (Anne-Louise Lambert) and her friend and admirer, the orphaned Sara (Margaret Nelson) are introduced. Miranda shows worry that Sara dotes on her too much because she will not be around for much longer. Sara is told that she is not allowed to go on the picnic. The party leaves leaving behind the head mistress Mrs. Appleyard (Rachel Roberts), a teacher and Sara.

At Hanging Rock the Valentine's cake is cut and the party relaxes in the warm shade. Marion (Marion (Jane Vallis) asks permission to take Miranda and Irma (Karen Robson) for an excursion on the rock and is accompanied by Edith (Christine Schuler), overweight and whining. Their departure is witnessed by a fascinated young Englishman who attempts to follow them. Though the girls are conscious of their allotted time, they continue their walk upwards ignoring Edith's complaints which turn into shock and finally terror as she gradually finds herself unable to communicate with them. She flees from the cliff in horror. The party returns three hours later than planned without the girls and the teacher Miss McCraw (Vivean Gray). Search parties are organised, an Aboriginal tracker is brought in and finally, a bloodhound. Sara is devasted but habitually treated coldly as the orphan she is. The young Englishman cannot forget his vision of Miranda crossing the lake and organises his own search. He spends the night on the rock and is found in terrible state clutching a bit of lace which leads to the discovery of Irma. The school feels the effects of the tragedy. An increasingly dishevelled Mrs Appleyard informs Sara that her fees have not been paid and that she will have to return to the orphanage. The next day Mrs Appleyard informs a teacher that Sara has been picked up by her guardian. The girls leave for their summer holidays under the impression that they will not return. Sara is found in the greenhouse into which she has crashed in a fall from her window. The film ends with the information that Mrs Appleyard was found dead from a fall from the cliffs at Hanging Rock the same year.

19.06.2008