Woman in the Dunes

1964 ‘砂の女’ Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara

Haunting. Erotic. Unforgettable.

An entomologist suffers extreme psychological and sexual torture after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village.

Eiji Okada Kyōko Kishida Ginzô Sekiguchi Kōji Mitsui Sen Yano Hiroko Itō

Alternative Titles

la femme des dunes, Písečná žena, Woman of the Dunes, Suna no onna, 沙之女, De Vrouw in 't Zand, A Mulher da Areia

drama thriller

147 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by matt lynch ★★★★

"No, no, dig up, stupid." -- Chief Clancy Wiggum
Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★★★ 5

93/100
Hasty airport catchup: Marveled while rewatching this at its allegorical versatility, or perhaps slipperiness—it feels like it could represent anything and everything, which I suppose detractors might argue means that it represents nothing. Ultimately doesn't matter much, though, as the film's weirdly parched sensuality knocks me for a loop right from the surface. Life is an inexorable invasion of grit, inspiring a sort of existential Stockholm Syndrome; had Teshigahara chosen to call this The Sand, its kinship with Sjoström's The Wind (a contender for my favorite silent feature; Woman in the Dunes might as well be one too) would be more apparent.
Review by DK ★★★★★ 4

Woman in the Dunes is the result of a long barrage of abstract thinking that seems to emerge directly from the super idea of its creator. This sequence of super sensual film contains Teshigahara's camera work lingers to capture close-ups of some of the details with great amazement. These moments are simultaneously abstract, artsy and sensual, giving the impression of disturbing by taking detailed shots that instead of unleashing the character's psychological disposition. Neither the novel nor the film intends to be an ideological thesis, Woman in the Dunes is clearly about the complex side of humanity because it describes on building the psychology and actions of the characters. Kōbō Abe, the author provides fair amounts of black humour that…
Review by Bruno ★★★★ 12

It just doesn’t get any more absorbing, provocative, existential and beautifully shot than this! Woman in the Dunes is only my first Hiroshi Teshigahara film and it absolutely floored me with the excellent performances, claustrophobic atmosphere, introspective look into the human condition and isolation, visual allegories, memorable dialogue and an unnerving musical score which reminded me of Mica Levi’s work in Under the Skin to some degree. There are many impressive shots of sand slithering downward, having a constant menacing aspect to them. After all, our protagonists are forced to live in this pit because of sand and they end up finding purpose in living on those circumstances. You also get a strong sense of fellowship throughout the film, emphasizing traditional Japanese family and community values. Overall, Woman in the Dunes is a remarkable gem and a must-see for every film enthusiast!
Review by Lara Pop ★★★★ 32

#Watchlist 2021
'Sand makes things rot.' A grain of sand can make you thirst for money. A handful of it can make you commit inhumane acts for said money – kidnapping, captivity, abuse, mental and physical torture. A mound of it can delude you into thinking it stands on solid ground, when all it needs is one slight tremor – and it becomes a landslide. A solid wall of it ruptures the delusion but makes you think that if you dig dig dig and strive upwards, you’ll break through eventually. After all, sand is merely tiny specks of slippery nothingness. But even a grain of it can bury you under. 'Sand makes things rot.' It will always sift through your…
Review by <Todd> ★★★★ 2

"The sand won't wait." -Woman,
Sand is scary.
Mesmerizing. Woman in the Dunes is a delightful film to watch because it progresses at a decent rate, looks beautiful, features distinctive performances and sound design, and contains a wonderful score. The camera work is especially pretty. It's also a confusing experience despite it's simple presentation. I really enjoy films with lots of room for interpretation because they push my imagination and allow me to think about the movie in a number of different ways. Even the director seems to have different interpretations of the film over the years and I find that interesting.
It's weird and probably best for people that love analyzing films while watching them.
Review by Jaime Rebanal ★★★★★ 5

Words to describe Hiroshi Teshigahara's Woman in the Dunes can range from "exotic" to "surreal" or "hypnotic" but they are mere understatements if one is going to describe the experience that is set to come. Though if there was one word that hits me when I think of Woman in the Dunes is not "masterpiece," because such a word isn't going to do justice to the experience that I had when I watch such a brilliant work. The moment when I first watched Woman in the Dunes was an experience that overwhelmed every thought process that was going through my head - but in such a way that I could not pin everything down on the spot what a film…
Review by Nick ★★★★ 1

Woman in the Dunes is a scathing piece on a man's place in modern society, wrapped up in the facade of an intense cat-and-mouse thriller. Despite the fact of the majority of the story revolves a man's self-rescuing, both the title and the poster primarily single out the female character, which is a really admirably intentional move from director Hiroshi Teshigahara.
Earning a surprising best director nomination at the Oscars, Woman in the Dunes proves its directorial excellence at sight and sound as early as the first frame, amplifying an eerily transfixing experience of a male scientist collecting insects in the desert, yet ending up being the collected, by heavy use of close-ups and sensual sound effects. Teshigahara combined elements…
Review by chavel ★★★★★ 5

“Do you shovel to survive, or survive to shovel?” – The Man
The Japanese Woman in the Dunes is a parable and visual tone poem that defies conventional description since it resists social realism, although in its hermetic presentation it plays realistic. It is also what the DVD box quote promises: “Haunting. Erotic. Unforgettable.” Sovereign rulers of nondescript power are perched atop a hill. Beneath are desert canyons, with people lodged in the dunes like inhabitants of an ant colony. The woman (Kyoko Kishida) needs a companion, so the village rulers trick a man (Eiji Okada) into the pit with promise of a hospice, and then permanently remove the ladder. The man, desperate for freedom, attempts to climb and scale…
Review by Rashid N. ★★★★½ 8

Criterion Challenge 2021 | Week #14
After a trio of underwhelming films from the Criterion Challenge, I entered 1964's Woman in the Dunes with serious fear and skepticism. It looked fantastic but I was scared of that trio making it to four films. Luckily, Hiroshi Teshigahara completely won me over. The performances are mightily underrated, the runtime flies by, and the infamous sand shots here are indescribably and simultaneously fearsome and breathtaking. All this attests to how far cinema can go. And honestly, for the first 10 minutes, I couldn't care less for anything going on but then I set down my phone which I am worriedly and horribly addicted to and then I set off on this journey along…
Review by KINODASEIN ★★★★★ 2

I’ve been haunted by this masterpiece for over fifteen years. In many ways, it is the film that sparked my obsession with cinema.
Review by Wes ★★★★★ 1

"Don't look up, you'll get sand in your face."
i would have payed for a directing masterclass with my student aid money if it was lead by hiroshi teshigahara were he alive today. the dude somehow made sand scary, even giving it its own motif: a sharp one note that feels like cold water to the face. there's a vague anxiety that pierces through all of this; a screeching score that blankets serene scenes, human faces dissolving into the sand, all these little fears waiting to dig their way up and clog your pores should feel like an uneasy experience, but this is among the most serene and seductive you could ever get with a creature as claustrophobic as this. what a barnburner.

Recent reviews

Review by Austin Lord ★★★★½ 4

This film starts out with the protagonist, who is an entomologist, collecting an antlion larvae from the sand. An antlion is an insect whose larval stage builds funnel shaped traps in the sand, you may have seen them before. These traps use the sand's unstable and constantly shifting ground to capture prey, and the more the prey tries to escape, the further they fall into the trap, eventually being consumed by the antlion larvae. Later on, the protagonist finds himself trapped in a house with one woman, surrounded by walls of sand and unable to escape no matter what he tries. He is now stuck in a human sized antlion trap. The observer now becomes the observed.
This film uses…
Review by Jacob ★★★½

The premise is absolutely fantastic for survival thrillers. Almost reminded of 1990’s “Misery” with how terrifying the protagonist situation is. The psychological horror worked really well, I would go insane eating, drinking, sleeping and sexing with sand dropping on me. Even with all that it has going for it, I found the the protagonist unlikable and the sex to be a little less steamy than I would imagine. Idk, this film just felt safe regardless of the nightmarish predicaments the two are in. Nonetheless, I totally understand the praise for this film and I do say, the score is certainly the most eeriest score I’ve ever heard.
Review by Andrew Craddock ★★★

Watching Woman in the Dunes for the first time kind of felt like I'd turned up halfway through for a lecture on a subject I'd forgotten to do the reading for. As I kicked back with a nice coffee, I admired it from afar, but was frustrated by its relatively impenetrable narrative.
Review by MiguelRoman ★★★★★

Si esta no es la mejor película de la historia del cine, no me interesa el cine.
Review by Borkodo

Why doesn’t Sisyphus just stop pushing the boulder?
Review by Rashid N. ★★★★½ 8

Criterion Challenge 2021 | Week #14
After a trio of underwhelming films from the Criterion Challenge, I entered 1964's Woman in the Dunes with serious fear and skepticism. It looked fantastic but I was scared of that trio making it to four films. Luckily, Hiroshi Teshigahara completely won me over. The performances are mightily underrated, the runtime flies by, and the infamous sand shots here are indescribably and simultaneously fearsome and breathtaking. All this attests to how far cinema can go. And honestly, for the first 10 minutes, I couldn't care less for anything going on but then I set down my phone which I am worriedly and horribly addicted to and then I set off on this journey along…
Review by <Todd> ★★★★ 2

"The sand won't wait." -Woman,
Sand is scary.
Mesmerizing. Woman in the Dunes is a delightful film to watch because it progresses at a decent rate, looks beautiful, features distinctive performances and sound design, and contains a wonderful score. The camera work is especially pretty. It's also a confusing experience despite it's simple presentation. I really enjoy films with lots of room for interpretation because they push my imagination and allow me to think about the movie in a number of different ways. Even the director seems to have different interpretations of the film over the years and I find that interesting.
It's weird and probably best for people that love analyzing films while watching them.
Review by Eoin Brosnan ★★★★★

Beautiful in every way
The sound design gives me nightmares

Are we trapped? Is life pointless?
Review by Dev Wernik ★★★★★ 1

Fuck I’m pissed (no pun intended) that I had to pee mid way through the movie I definitely need to rewatch all the way through. fucking perfection
Review by Da_Shrimp ★★★★★

I hate sand
Review by Harry ★★★★★

mesmerising. this film gets into your soul and never lets you go. not only does it have the some of the most beautiful cinematography ever, it's also creepy AND horny
Review by Samantha ★★★★★ 1

We are enslaved to the very things that appear to benefit us. A sandy, sweaty, and spellbinding achievement of timeless societal commentary and haunting atmosphere, descending and consuming like an avalanche – a dark trap from which the soul cannot arise.