Review: "Woman in the Dunes" (1964)

“Woman in the Dunes” is a beautifully crafted and thought provoking film that tells a simple story about a man and a woman living at the bottom of a sandpit yet conveys profound wisdom about the nature of human existence and identity.

Based on Kobo Abe’s novel and directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, “Woman in the Dunes” opens with a simple set-up that is not unlike a horror movie. An entomologist (Eiji Tokada) is wandering among sand dunes in a remote area of Japan searching for bugs. Engrossed in his research, he loses track of time and misses the last bus back to town. He encounters a villager who offers to put him up for the night in the home of a local woman (Kyoko Kishida). The entomologist graciously accepts the offer of hospitality and the villager leads him to a ramshackle hut, curiously located at the base of a sand pit and requiring a steep descent via rope ladder. He awakens the next morning to discover that the rope ladder is gone and he is trapped in the sandpit. Gradually he learns that the villagers have selected him to be the woman’s companion and help her with her daily work of shoveling sand, a necessary task to prevent the hut from being engulfed. As he struggles to find a way to escape, he develops a relationship with the woman that transforms his life.

The story of the man and the woman, two very different people who likely would never meet in the outside world, and the strange bond of companionship and responsibility that develops between them is emotionally compelling. He is an urban, educated man who values rational, scientific knowledge and disdains the experiential knowledge of the villagers. Elitist and arrogant, he refuses to demean himself by shoveling sand, believing that manual labor is beneath him. He professes to be fascinated with sand bugs and their environment but seems more interested in making a name for himself. His social status defines him. The woman is earthy, humble and hardworking. She lives day by day and shovels sand to survive and to obtain food and provisions from the village. Her nature is emotional and intuitive and she longs for companionship, having lost her husband and daughter during a violent sandstorm.

One of the themes that resonates is the struggle to find a connection to others and how our identity can shift as we adapt to changing conditions. Early on, the man admits that his fascination with sand and his desire to escape from the bustle of Tokyo brought him to the village. It’s ironic that, when given all the time in the world to live as he desires, he feels trapped and spends his energy struggling to escape. In the end, as he develops a close bond with the woman and discovers something valuable in the sand that could benefit the entire village, he is transformed into a new self, someone who has humbled himself and forged a connection to others.

The sand itself is a major character and the images of it are some of the most beautiful captured on film. A metaphor for life (or “flow”), the sand in “Woman in the Dunes” is not dry and unyielding; rather, it is a fluid, constantly shifting entity that changes the nature of things. It is everywhere -- seeping through the ceiling, blowing ferociously through the doors, sticking to the body, sensually cradling the man and woman during intimate moments. The more the man tries to escape the sand, to conquer it, the more it beats him back down. He realizes that he cannot shape the sand to his will. Ultimately, it is the sand that shapes him.