Picnic at Hanging Rock

"a gorgeous film. i'd say it's a bizarre mixture of suspiria, the secret garden, and maurice; and i can't remember the last time i've seen anything this sapphic (the 1970's carrie, maybe?). there's LOTS of affectionate touching, hair braiding, hand holding, corset pulling, and female-on-female crushing. it's barely subtext. after a while i assumed it was heading in a direction similar to bbc's children of the stones, but answers are left vague. the visual language is impeccable: more than once does the film compare miranda (the object of sarah's affections) to swans or botticelli's artwork. the birth of venus appears as an illustration and a tattoo and a spoken metaphor, and swans (symbols of transplanted creatures with no independent ability to survive in australia) are shown in bedrooms, ponds, lakes, and ceramics. there's some really excellent cinematography and camera angles too (that shot of miranda combing her hair in the mirror in the beginning?? 👌). if you like tragic endings, you'll probably love it."

"Not sure how this made it onto my list …it is ethereal with some pretty scenes, but I would not recommend .. "

"Beautiful costumes and filming. A little creepy bc it's based on a true story of a summer picnic gone wrong, but also almost meditative, the movie really captures the feel of a long summer day in the sun. Highly recommend it!"

"so hazy and feminine and summery... mysterious like an ominous dream that lingers with you for days after you wake up. God I love this movie "