Cinema Tuesdays: Picnic at Hanging Rock

Hailed as a defining force of Australian New Wave cinema, Sydney native Peter Weir redefined the term “cliffhanger” with his adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel Picnic at Hanging Rock. Set on Valentine’s Day circa 1900, the film — which surrounds three schoolgirls and a math teacher who vanish while exploring a geological formation — is arguably more discussed for its unresolved ending than its hypnotic cinematography and strange sexual undertones. Texas Public Radio screens the classic mystery along with the locally produced short The Awful Tree as part of its Cinema Tuesdays film series.