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Movies that feel like Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

If you loved Picnic at Hanging Rock, the closest films we have are Dead Poets Society (1989), The Last Wave (1977) and Winter's Bone (2010). All three share Picnic at Hanging Rock's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel and HBO Max and others, checked against today's data.

In the early 1900s, Miranda attends a girls boarding school in Australia. One Valentine's Day, the school's typically strict headmistress treats the girls to a picnic field trip to an unusual but scenic volcanic formation called Hanging Rock. Despite rules against it, Miranda and several other girls venture off. It's not until the end of the day that the faculty realizes the girls and one of the teachers have disappeared mysteriously.

πŸ… 93% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Peter Weircontemplativetwistyatmosphericwistful

When is Picnic at Hanging Rock streaming? β†’

If Picnic at Hanging Rock hit the spot, these will too

Dead Poets Society poster
Dead Poets Society
1989 Β· dir. Peter Weir
πŸ… 85%β˜… 8.1drama

The same hand behind both of them: Peter Weir

The difference: Missing the twists of Picnic at Hanging Rock

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

Feels alike?
The Last Wave poster
The Last Wave
1977 Β· dir. Peter Weir
πŸ… 78%β˜… 6.9drama Β· mystery Β· horror

Peter Weir working the same nerve twice

The difference: Not nearly as atmospheric as Picnic at Hanging Rock

A Sydney lawyer defends five Aboriginal people in a ritualised taboo murder and in the process learns disturbing truths about himself and premonitions.

Feels alike?
Winter's Bone poster
Winter's Bone
2010 Β· dir. Debra Granik
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.1drama Β· mystery

The same mix in both: stillness, then twists

The difference: 35 years apart, and the 2010s show

After discovering her father put their house up for his bail bond and then disappeared, 17-year-old Ree Dolly must confront the local criminal underworld and the harsh Ozark wilderness in order to to track down her father and save her family.

Feels alike?
Fat City poster
Fat City
1972 Β· dir. John Huston
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.2drama

Both trade on atmosphere more than on being drama

The story of two men, a veteran boxer who is down and out, and a young man who is just starting his life and boxing career. Their fighting careers cross paths as their lives and fortunes head in opposite directions. Director John Huston tells their stories with a level, unsentimental honesty and makes it into one of his best films.

Feels alike?
Citizen Kane poster
Citizen Kane
1941 Β· dir. Orson Welles
πŸ… 99%β˜… 8.2mystery Β· drama

Mystery with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: A 1940s film, from a different era of filmmaking

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.

Feels alike?
Alphaville poster
Alphaville
1965 Β· dir. Jean-Luc Godard
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7drama Β· science fiction Β· mystery

Twisty drama in both cases

The difference: Leans science fiction where Picnic at Hanging Rock does not

Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word β€œlove.”

Feels alike?
Sweet Smell of Success poster
Sweet Smell of Success
1957 Β· dir. Alexander Mackendrick
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8drama

Atmospheric mystery, and it commits to that

New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.

Feels alike?
Unbreakable poster
Unbreakable
2000 Β· dir. M. Night Shyamalan
πŸ… 71%β˜… 7.3thriller Β· drama Β· mystery

Drama built on stillness, twice over

An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead β€” and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.

Feels alike?
After Dark, My Sweet poster
After Dark, My Sweet
1990 Β· dir. James Foley
πŸ… 80%β˜… 6.5crime Β· drama Β· mystery

Twisty mystery in both cases

Three desperados try to kidnap a wealthy child in hope of turning their lives around.

Feels alike?
Ugetsu poster
Ugetsu
1953 Β· dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama Β· mystery

Drama approached the same way

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

Feels alike?
Leave No Trace poster
Leave No Trace
2018 Β· dir. Debra Granik
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1drama

Growing up is the engine of both

A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to authorities, they are sent on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own.

Feels alike?
The Tenant poster
The Tenant
1976 Β· dir. Roman Polanski
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.5thriller Β· mystery Β· drama

The same mystery instincts

A quiet and inconspicuous man rents an apartment in Paris where he finds himself drawn into a rabbit hole of dangerous paranoia.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Picnic at Hanging Rock's defining feeling.