Suna no onna (1964)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Writers:

Kôbô Abe (novel)
Kôbô Abe (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 October 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Haunting. Erotic. Unforgettable.

Plot:

An amateur entomologist searching for insects by the sea is trapped by local villagers into living with...

Plot Keywords:

Mysterious Woman | Sand Dune | Sand | Insect | Dune

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Eiji Okada	...	Entomologist Niki Jumpei
Kyôko Kishida	...	Woman
Hiroko Ito	...	Entomologist's wife (in flashbacks)
Koji Mitsui
Sen Yano
Ginzô Sekiguchi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kiyohiko Ichiha
Hideo Kanze
Hiroyuki Nishimoto
Tamotsu Tamura

Also Known As:

Woman in the Dunes (International: English title)
Woman of the Dunes (International: English title)

Runtime:

123 min | 147 min (director's cut)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | UK:15 (re-rating) (1992) | UK:X (original rating) | Norway:15 (TV rating) | West Germany:18

Company:

Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Quotes:

Man: It's useless. The sand can swallow up cities and countries, if it wants to.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Zen and the City

In my interpretation this movie is a reflection on Zen philosophy: Just like Zen monks that sweep the courtyards of monasteries and devote themselves to the most humble tasks to find inner harmony, Niki finds inner rest in the daily work of removing the sand, solving water supply problems and living a confined live. The movie suggests the modern lifes we live in the big cities isolate us from our needs and ourselves. Just like a Zen garden, that is designed to mirror nature and men, the people in the dunes reflect our daily struggles and confinements. The surreal setting is a necessity to convey the message of the film. There is nothing goofy about the pits and how people behave in there. It is just hard for us western people to see the transcendence there. This movie has more logic and authenticity than all the dull Hollywood movies taken together. I have seen Suna no Onna 1993 at a Japan Festival in Berlin. I can't remember all the details but it really hit me. It is a very unique work and I wonder why it doesn't have the cult character of other movies.