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Poster for Woman in the Dunes

Woman in the Dunes

Haunting. Erotic. Unforgettable.

1964 · 2h 27m · Not Rated Drama, Thriller
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara

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Overview

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
100%
Tomatometer
Fresh

A bizarre film, distinguished not so much by Kobo Abe's rather obvious screenplay as by Teshigahara's arresting visual style of extreme depth of focus, immaculate detail, and graceful eroticism.

Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Fresh

Teshigahara's direction and Segawa's camera-work often render the mundane startling and new, a claim that only good films can make.

Mark Chalon Smith, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

In stunningly composed images by Teshigahara and cinematographer Hiroshi Segawa, that eroticism becomes overwhelming.

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Fresh

Woman in the Dunes remains a masterpiece, a timeless contemplation of life's essential mystery and a triumph of bold, innovative style.

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

A strongly allegorical, strangely engrossing film.

Bosley Crowther, New York Times

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