An elegant Victorian picnic in the wilderness becomes an everlasting nightmare in this masterpiece of coming-of-age cinema and folk horror.

Victoria, Australia, 1900. After counting their Valentines, the blissful girls of Appleyard College travel horse-and-carriage to a prehistoric geological formation called Hanging Rock. They set up an idyllic picnic with white lace parasols, and the most beloved student, Miranda St. Clair, described as “a Botticelli angel,” cuts the first slice of their heart-shaped cake. After a rest, Miranda leads her friends on a hike through the maze-like rocks until a few of these curious explorers disappear into thin air.

Picnic at Hanging Rock explores the naiveté of youth, the mysteries of human relationships, the struggles of those we leave behind, and the insatiable lust for answers in the effort to dispel uncertainty. The film also has a marvelous queer subtext in the characters of Miranda and her shy orphaned roommate, Sara. Every moment she is apart from Miranda, Sara yearns to reconnect with the center of her universe.