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9.0
/10
4,335 Ratings

WOMAN IN THE DUNES

砂の女 | Suna no onna

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
Japan, 1964
Drama, Thriller
  • 147147 minutes

Synopsis

An amateur entomologist leaves Tokyo to study an unclassified species of beetle found in a vast desert. When he misses his bus back to the city, he is persuaded of spending the night with a young widow in her hut by a sand dune, who is forced to constantly clear the sands that threaten to engulf it.

Synopsis

An amateur entomologist leaves Tokyo to study an unclassified species of beetle found in a vast desert. When he misses his bus back to the city, he is persuaded of spending the night with a young widow in her hut by a sand dune, who is forced to constantly clear the sands that threaten to engulf it.

Our take

Hiroshi Teshigahara’s staggering 1960s classic, a winner of the Cannes Special Jury Prize and nominated for two Oscars®, strikingly fuses existential thriller and erotic drama. With spellbinding surreal imagery and a sensual, atmospheric quality, this is film at its most philosophical and cinematic.