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Woman in the Dunes

Woman in the Dunes

Drama · Thriller · 1964

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.

Movie details

Woman in the Dunes

“Haunting. Erotic. Unforgettable.”

1964 Drama · Thriller 2h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.2 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Woman in the Dunes?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Written by

Kōbō Abe

Eiji Okada

Eiji Okada

Entomologist Niki Jumpei

Kyôko Kishida

Kyôko Kishida

The Woman

H

Hiroko Itō

Entomologist's Wife

Kōji Mitsui

Kōji Mitsui

Village Elder

Court is in session

Put Woman in the Dunes on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.