Peter Weir's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock': The time aspect and its connection to the mysteries of the film.

This is an essay of only 12 pages. The first section talks about Peter Weir and his films. The second part is a brief synopsis of the movie. The rest of the essay discusses time in relation to the film. Some of the main points include:

There is 'natural' time (the time of nature) and 'civilized' time (using clocks, etc, run by humans.)

Also there is 'normal' time (in which Sara's time at the school is running out due to non-payment of fees) versus "out of order' time (which takes place on the Rock as shown by the watches stopping.)

The college has strict time schedules. The Rock doesn't.

There is another way to look at the time issue being time at the college, time during the picnic itself, and the time of the Rock itself.

Miranda's statement that everything begins and ends at the right time and space.

Other events in the movie are discussed. Then there's a list of characters and a list of event sequences.

I rhink the essay could have used some other time comparisons in other movies. Also, the paranormal aspect is not really explored, such as whether the missing girls went back in time, forward in time, or were in some kind of timeless void.

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