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Three girls and a teacher mysteriously disappear during a 1900 school picnic at a strange rock formation in this Australian film from director Peter Weir (Witness, Master and Commander). Weir uses his trademark poetic license to suggest a supernatural cause, but don't look for a firm answers -- the film is based on a true story that was never solved.

The film is split into two distinctly different halves. Leading up to the disappearance, Weir concentrates on building an unsettling atmosphere where anything is possible, including perhaps, that one of the girls foresaw her disappearance and that the whole mystery stems from something primal and sexual. The second half of the movie focuses on how the tragedy affects a number of characters, including a domineering headmistress and a troubled classmate who may have been in love with one of the missing girls.

The film wildly succeeds in creating an air of mystery and is wide open to rich interpretation. Zamfir’s pan flute music and additional scoring by Bruce Smeaton help establish a feeling of foreboding.