Woman in the Dunes (1964)★ 8.4/10

Not Rated · JP · 147 min · February 15, 1964

Drama
Thriller

A trapped entomologist, held captive in a remote coastal village, is forced to live with a woman whose life revolves around shoveling sand to survive, leading him into a strange, prolonged coexistence.

Original title

Woman in the Dunes

Storyline

An amateur entomologist (Eiji Okada, Hiroshima Mon Amour) loses track of time hunting bugs in the sand dunes and misses the last bus home. So when a local offers to arrange a bed for the night in the nearest hamlet, he gratefully accepts. The home turns out to be a wooden shack at the bottom of a vertiginous sandpit, and despite the friendly ministrations of the attractive widow who lives there (Kyoko Kishida), the man dimly begins to realize he’s been set up… But for what?

Rating

8.4 / 10 · 26,524

Companies

Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd., Teshigahara Productions, Toho, Pathé Contemporary Films, Contemporary Films, Frontier Amusements, Poli Films Mundiales, Filmagentur Süd, Lutecia Films, Metropolitan Films, Lady Film, NHK Sôgô, ARTE, NHK-BS2, Asmik, BFI Video, trigon-film, The Criterion Collection, New Star, Umbrella Entertainment, Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting, Gloria Film A/S, Milestone Film & Video, Tele Alba

Release dates