Sachin E
How can a film be so realistic and yet so absurd at the same time? The film revolves around the philosophy of The Myth of Sisyphus. The sand here is an allegory of inescapable capitalism. The working class under capitalism is made to produce wealth for the rich through their incessant and meaningless labor, just like the man and woman who shovel sand for the villagers. As the man asks the woman, "Are you shoveling to live or living to shovel?" we should ask ourselves, "Are we working to live or living to work?"
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/08/23
Full Review
mary m
This film: Seen it at least half a dozen times and every time it's a revelation. I credit this as one of the film's that opened me up to the world of cinema. If you haven't seen it, you must.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Dave S
Imagine if Rod Serling had asked Luis Bunuel and Franz Kafka to create a Twilight Zone episode based on the myth of Sisyphus. The end result would have undoubtedly been something along the lines of Hiroshi Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes. When entomologist Niki Junpei (Eija Okada) finds himself stranded in a remote desert region, the local villagers arrange for him to spend the night in the home of a widow who, strangely, lives at the bottom of a sandy pit. He soon finds that he is trapped, unable to climb out of the hole due to the instability of the sand, doomed to spend his life like Sisyphus, forever attempting an impossible challenge. Tackling themes of alienation, isolation, and the absurd nature of existence, Woman in the Dunes features effectively restrained performances, an intriguing premise, excellent sound effects, and stunning cinematography, making it a totally unique viewing experience.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
10/16/23
Full Review
sigeki o
This is a film from my home country (Japan), but I don't like it very much. The visual experience of wandering around the world in the sand for a long time is unpleasant to watch. To begin with, Kobo Abe's original novel is not that good, but it is highly acclaimed overseas. However, the film is not without its good parts. However, it is doubtful if the visual experience of the unnecessary sandy prison is really of the same quality as that of "Eraserhead" when compared to it. Nevertheless, it is nice to see a film from my home country being highly praised.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
It is a long, slow psychological film that reminded me perfectly of half if society's reaction to lockdown. Combining Sisyphean suffering with Stockholm syndrome. Quite interesting but equally long winded and hard to endure.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
Alvise F
"Woman in the Dunes" is a modern parable that examines the relationship of the body, the ego and the surrounding environment.
The body is the concretization of the ego: mirror of all human emotions, perceptions and reflections contained in the metaphysical dimension of "Japanese thought".
According to Japanese tradition, in fact, the truth cannot be obtained through the simple theorization of thought, but only through the physical identification as awareness of the ego ("tainin" or "taikoku": understanding based on one's own bodily experiences).
The concept of the body is a fundamental component of the so-called "nikutai eiga" (肉体映画), "films about carnality", in which the eroticism of the female body is emphasized. Through an anthropological process of "self-ethnicization", the female figures, influenced by Western models, are redefined shaping well-endowed women, voluptuous and with an overt sexual desire.
The surrounding environment is the surreal landscape buried by sand: indifferent to the influences of the outside world, primitive and austere, but somehow reassuring because alien to the madness of contemporary society.
Trapped in a dystopic realm of sand, the protagonist surrenders to his enigmatic fate, ending up losing the desire for freedom. After all, maybe one feels less trapped in a hole in the ground shoveling sand than struggle like a frightened insect in the corrupt reality in which one is forced to live.
"Woman in the Dunes" is one of the most intriguing Japanese New Wave work and the first "gendaigeki" (現代劇), "contemporary film", in history to receive international recognition: the tribal elements, the naked Japanese female body and the loss of modern identity, give life to a new exoticism that reawakens the curiosity of the overseas audience.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/25/22
Full Review
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