Woman in the Dunes

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Audience Member A Masterpiece. Erotic, frightening, philosophical, loving. One of my favorite films. One that I recommend to all. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/28/24 Full Review 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 Read all reviews

Woman in the Dunes

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