Lake Mungo

Losing a loved one is one of the most traumatic experiences that most people will go through,

and the way that any given individual handles that varies from person to person.

Some bury themselves in their work to keep their minds off of it. Others struggle with grief and pain in the absence,

and still others manage to take it in stride, comforted by friends, families, and beliefs.

Lake Mungo is a film about grief, specifically about the death of a child, and how one family navigates their shared pain.

In the process, they discover that they didn't really know the departed as much as they thought,

and begin experiencing things that they can't rationally explain.

Let's take a look.

The film takes place in the small Australian town of Earat and opens with an emergency call

placed by June Palmer on December 21st, 2005.

During the call, she frantically states that they're at a dam, and her daughter Alice has gone missing.

We then see a news report from the following day discussing the disappearance of 16-year-old Alice Palmer,

who still has not been located.

Alice's father, Russell, then explains that her and her brother Matthew had swum out to the middle of the dam when Matthew decided to get out.

A few minutes later, he asked where Alice is, finding the water to be completely still.

That was the last time they saw her, and after the search and rescue divers arrived, the family was told

to go home and await any news. June remarks on how strange it was to drive back home from

that, with one empty seat. Russell called June's parents to inform them, with them quickly

driving in, and June also states that having

her mother there was strange, as it didn't feel like the right order of things.

June later called Alice's boyfriend, Jason, informing him of what happened, and he says

...