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Suna no Onna (Woman in the Dunes) (1964)

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Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 4.3/5
User Ratings: 4,787

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Movie Info

When entomologist Jumpei (Eiji Okada) travels to sand dunes on an expedition, he is met by a group of people who offer him a place to spend the night. They soon lead him to a house at the bottom of a sandpit. Upon climbing into the pit, he finds a young widow (Kyoko Kishida) living alone. Placed there by the villagers, her task is to dig sand out of the pit -- not only so that they can avoid getting buried, but so that the locals can use it for construction. The next morning, when Jumpei

Jan 4, 2000

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All Critics (19) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (0) | DVD (5)

More than almost any other film I can think of, Woman in the Dunes' uses visuals to create a tangible texture -- of sand, of skin, of water seeping into sand and changing its nature.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

As beguiling, enigmatic and timeless as the shifting sands, Teshigahara's finest film pulls the viewer in and refuses to let go.

August 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film | Comment
Eye for Film

a horror movie about the loss of one identity and the gaining of another

August 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | Comment
Q Network Film Desk

If any piece of art-house cinema can be called an essential, this mesmerizing, haunting work can.

August 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A popular art house film of the 1960s, this allegorical tale holds up extremely well, perhaps due to its hypnotic visuals and intense stylization. Hiroshi Teshigahara became the first Japanese filmmaker to be nominated for the Best Director Oscar

April 12, 2007 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

A promotional video for the Albert Camus Summer Camp

March 12, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinemania | Comment

It's an offbeat tale involving an erotic love affair and a philosophical question about the meaning of existence.

August 10, 2004 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Hiroshi Teshigahara's carefully constructed direction bring the characters to life in a way that makes us both sympathize and identify with their situation.

October 25, 2003 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

sensual camerawork that captures waves of sand more intimately than Lawrence of Arabia and lovingly wraps around the bodies of its protagonists.

July 28, 2003 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | Comment

One of the most beautiful black and white films ever made.

March 10, 2002 Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Suna no Onna (Woman in the Dunes)

An entomologist looking for bugs (he's looking for a specific one that will make a name for him in his peer group) in the sand of a seaside town misses the last bus of the night back to town and is convinced to spend the night in the home of a young woman, who lives in a small house in a mostly inaccessible sandpit, as

June 3, 2009
webalina

Super Reviewer

the film is certainly gorgeous. the sand is mesmerizing. i didn't find it as 'erotic' as some however. i got the larger point about the futility of most of our activities but i didn't like what it seems to say about male-female relationships. even if it's true! lol

April 5, 2008
rubystevens
Stella Dallas

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Woman in the Dunes (Suna no onna) (DE)
  • Woman in the Dunes (Suna no onna) (UK)
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