:
Eiji Okada,
Eiji Okada,
Kyoko Kishida,
more...
:
Hiroshi Teshigahara,
Hiroshi Teshigahara
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Image Entertainment
: Foreign, Japan, Experimental/Avant-Garde
: 127 min.
: Japanese
: English
see additional details...
This title is currently out of print.
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When entomologist Jumpei (Eiji Okada) travels to sand dunes on an expedition, he is met by a group of people who offer him a place to spend the night. They soon lead him to a house at the bottom of a sandpit. Upon climbing into the pit, he finds a young widow (Kyoko Kishida) living alone. Placed there by the villagers, her task is to dig sand out of the pit -- not only so that they can avoid getting buried, but so that the locals can use it for construction. The next morning, when Jumpei attempts to leave, he finds that the ladder which brought him into the pit is no longer there and the villagers inform him that he must stay and help the woman dig. After trying to get out of the pit, Jumpei takes his anger out on the woman--only to soon become her lover. After some time, he slowly gives in to accepting his predicament. This interesting story takes a simple yet effective route in philosophical allegory, focusing upon the couple's oppressive confinement and the force of their physical attraction to each other in spite of--or because of--their situation. Taken from the novel by Kobo Abe, director/producer Hiroshi Teshigahara completed this visually stunning feature on a budget of only $100,000. Winning a Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1964, the poetic Woman in the Dunes would go on to be nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Foreign Film (1964) and Best Director (1965). ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
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| Terrible DVD Print
by gfrasu29
November 4, 2004 - 6:00 PM PST
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2 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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This may have been a great film but I wouldn't know because I couldn't see it. The print quality on this DVD was so poor that there were extended periods of almost total darkness. Any shots that take place inside the hut are completely unintelligible and if the action takes place at night- forget about it. It's impossible to figure out what the hell the characters are doing.
Watch this film, but don't watch this print. |
| Kobo Abe visualized.
by minordv8
January 28, 2003 - 4:49 PM PST
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4 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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This film adaptation of Abe's novel is as engaging with it's stark B&W photography as Abe's words are in the novel. The characterization is well developed in the 2 hour film. There's a sense that you are watching the events of another planet or examining insects in a terrarium. The sand walls crumbling reinforced the feeling I had when I read the novel of a man imprisoned in a menial existence that he soon finds he is unwilling to escape from because the bond that develops with his captor.
My only complaint with the DVD is that the B&W contrasts was sometimes so dark that several scenes where pretty much just a black screen with voices.
Favorite scenes:
Niki's first attempted escape.
Sand covered love scene.
Scene where Niki bargains with his captors to get a view of the ocean.
Movies w/ similar themes:
Tie her up, Tie her down
Quiet Earth
I would like to see more Teshigahara/Abe collaborations in the GreenCine collection.
-johnny;j
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 8.30)
133 Votes
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