Dec 20, 2003 10:23 AM
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(Updated Dec 20, 2003 11:10 AM)
“Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.”
Quoted by Miranda in the opening scene of this film
From “A Dream within a Dream “(Edgar Allan Poe)
This is one of the New-Wave Australian films that were released in the 1970s which went on to become a big hit. You might wonder why I decided to watch this film when there are so many Hollywood films to see .It is because I am a big fan of Peter Weir .This film was directed by Peter Weir ,who is recently known for the Jim Carrey starrer “ Truman Show “ and the recent adventure film “Master and Commander “. His first few films like “The Last Wave “ or this film which is based on a novel by Joan Lindsay clearly indicates his inclination to deal with mystical or spiritual themes in his films.. The beauty of this movie is that these themes form an integral part of the film and if you take it away, the very essence of the film is lost and it would degenerate into just another ordinary film. This film is considered to be a classic .Even though many people consider it to be a “horror” film, after seeing this film, I realized that it transcends the genre and one cant associate it with a particular style.
It is St Valentine’s Day. The year is 1900 .The girls from the Appleyard College, Australia go for a picnic to Hanging Rock which is some miles away from the college. The college is headed by Mrs. Appleyard (Rachel Roberts) who is very strict and expects all the girls to follow the Victorian customs and traditions. All the rebels are punished and stress is given on discipline, honor and lady-like behavior. Mrs. Appleyard forbids Sarah (Margaret Nelson), who is rebellious in nature, to go for the picnic. It worries her even more as she would not be able to spend time with Miranda with whom she is much attached to .Miranda looks like an angel and is very much mature for her age. She warns Sarah that she should learn to love others too as she might not be near her for long. But, strange things occur when the girls reach the hanging rock. Their watches stop working exactly at 12:00 noon. Three girls headed by Miranda (Anne Lambert, Karen Robson, Jane Vallis) get permission from their Maths teacher (Vivean Gray) to explore the hanging rock and start to climb up …After some time, the teacher realizes that they are lost and go in search of them . The other girls realize that the teacher and the 3 girls are lost when they don’t come back for hours…After waiting for a long time, they return to their college and inform Mrs. Appleyard about it. The police comes to know of it and they decide to launch a big search operation .They are able to rescue one of the girls from a cave in a bruised condition. When they question her, she says that she doesn’t remember anything …What happened to the 2 girls and the teacher? Have they died already? Have they been killed by wild animals or tribal people? Or have they mysteriously been kidnapped by an UFO? Or are they just angels from heaven who have come to earth in order to see how life in earth is? This film addresses these questions …
The film begins with a mystic and unearthly pan pipe music which is the film’s theme (“Church of Nature”)... The pan pipe was played by Zamfir, who is considered be one of the best pan pipe players in the world. It has been 2 days since I saw the film. But this theme music still stays in my mind...That might be because one gets hooked onto this theme and it is like taking an out-of-the-world trip .But how is this beautiful piece related to this film ? When I listened to this music with my eyes closed, there were many relevant things that popped up in my mind...
The music symbolizes the impermanence of life as a whole. The disappearance of the two girls probably is just a symbol to prove Miranda‘s point of view that “everything begins and ends at exactly the right place and time “.
The haunting music hypnotizes you and takes into a different world...There is this mystical, hypnotic otherworldliness we can associate with this piece.Probably, it indicates that the girls who disappeared are angels and they just came to earth to see how human beings function as a whole...In fact , one of the girls comment about the people they left behind about how unmindful they are ,about many things .There is also one poignant scene where in , the young man (who initially saw Miranda in the woods and was infatuated by her) sees Miranda (or the form that resembles Miranda) in the woods when he was relaxing and immediately sees a swan that probably indicates to him that she has become a swan .
Initially, when the music was played for the titles, it suggested to us, viewers that there is something horrible that is going to happen and prepares us for the incidents that happen in the film... So this theme music acts as any ominous piece from a horror movie .But, this movie breaks all the rules of a horror movie. The horror is more in the mood rather than the visuals. Needless to say, the photography (by Robert Boyd) was excellent...The visuals are great and it seems to be straight out of a Wordsworth poem.
This movie has a lot of interpretations...In fact, each viewer can come to his/her own conclusions. Probably, the director wants to indicate to us that there cannot be any clear-cut explanations for mysteries like this. Also, strong emphasis was given to how in those days, women were controlled a lot in the name of customs and traditions. We see that Mrs. Appleyard‘s actions were much biased and the action she took against Sarah was focused on suppressing Sarah’s rebellious nature. The film doesn’t have a strong storyline as it just narrates a true story that happened years before. But the way the director narrates the incidents through his powerful screenplay and excellent performances by the actors elevates it to a different level. There is no horror in this film. But it is a horror film. It is not a love story. But the film flows like a love poem.
Rachel Roberts is great as Mrs. Appleyard who imposes her strict views on the girls in her college. Sometimes, she takes stern decisions and later regrets for what she had done earlier. Margaret Nelson is Sarah, who is in love with Miranda. She is a rebel, no doubt and since she is very much attached to Miranda, is not able to forget her after Miranda disappears. This prompts her to take some rash decisions .The role of Miranda is very interesting... You wonder whether the whole thing of disappearing into the rocks was planned earlier by her because there is this mystic quality in her which makes you think that way.
There are two music pieces in the soundtrack which stands out : “Church of Nature “ which is the theme of the film and “Swan flies away “ when the young man sees a swan and almost comes to his own conclusion about the fate of Miranda.
The film is deliberately slow at some places and so might be boring to some viewers... Overall, this is a must-see film...Don’t miss it if you get a chance!!!
