Woman Of The Dunes [1964] [DVD]

Hiroshi Teshigahara may not rank as highly in the echelons of Japanese directors as Ozu or Kurosawa, nevertheless he has produced a classic in Woman of the Dunes.

A professor in search of rare butterflies (what else when the film is concerned with transformation) on the dune coast of Western Japan, misses his transport home and is offered shelter by the local people in the strange sand pit home of a widow. All is fine until he tries to leave, and finds that the villagers have other ideas, for the widow needs help in shifting the sand from her pit, an endless and thankless task, and he is held captive. At first he rails against his captivity, sometimes violently, until he finds a purpose in this case the need to keep sand out of the water butt, and he no longer thinks of escape.

Filmed in 1964 at a time when Japan was undergoing a period of growing discontent, the student riots were only a few years away. The film serves as an excellent metaphor for the problems a rapidly changing society has with maintaining the belief systems of the past, and the alienation found in progress. The professsor at first views the peasants as inferior and in the way of his work, he is the face of the self centred modern Japan. But through his captivity he comes to see the need for conformity and a unity of purpose.

If you are interested in cinema, not just Japanese cinema, then I strongly recommend this film, you will probably read something completely different into the film than I did, therein lies its beauty.

There have been a number of films about victims kidnapped and held against their will. Sadly it is something that has happened in the real world, as recent cases have highlighted. I recall watching William Wyler's "The Collector"(65), where Terence Stamp adds a very attractive Samantha Eggar to his butterfly collection. There was also "Misery"(91), where a very scary Kathy Bates holds James Caan much against his will. No one could blame him there! But the daddy of all these films is Hiroshi Teshigahara's "Woman of the Dunes". This darkly hypnotic tale weaves its magic for a running time of 119 minutes. Remarkably, it is riveting viewing throughout.

Eiji Okada plays an amateur entomologist from Tokyo visiting sand dunes by the sea in search of bugs. When he misses his bus he is offered a bed for the night in rather an unusual lodging. He is taken to a house in a deep sandpit which is only accessible by rope ladder. Next day he finds the rope ladder has been lifted up and it begins to dawn on him that he has been kidnapped. He discovers that the young woman of the house played by Kyoko Kishida has lost her husband and daughter in a sand slide, and he is there to work as a replacement for them. His job is the sisypheon task of removing endless quantities of sand that are always threatening to engulf the house. The sand is sold to bulders by the villagers, who are all in cahoots. The woman is young and comely and willing to wait on our victim. She is also not above being seduced. She is also no Kathy Bates! Now some blokes might think they have fallen on their feet, get on with a bit of digging and enjoy the perks. But oh no, not Eiji. He tries repeatedly and with increasing desperation to escape. But gradually he begins to acclimatise to his surroundings. As a Beirut hostage once said " You can get used to anything eventually". He is now the worlds leading expert on Lebanese radiators! Will Eiji just become another missing person?

The film has a third big star that is uncredited, and that is the all pervading sand that is given a fluid life all of its own. There are many shots of sliding sand and expanses of sand rippled like the sea. There is more sand on display than there was in "Lawrence of Arabia". The film was made for a reputed paltry 100,00 dollars, which does not surprise me! All they had to do was find a big sand pit and build a rickety house resembling a garden shed out of driftwood. Then just find a few actors and off you go! But the film is much more than a simple budget frightener. Tension is cleverly built by the use of extreme close ups of the actors, and myriad shots of the ever present sand. The minimalist film music by Toru Takemitsu also creates an atmosphere of menace. Even the intelligent close up shots of strange bugs in the sand begin to make the skin crawl. The film is also strangely erotic as the two inevitably become lovers. But it should be added that there is nothing too much to upset granny. There were a couple of scenes that I suspect were cleverly included to create deliberate sensation. If so this was a successful ploy, as it was one of the few Japanese films to prove popular in the west. Sadly Teshigahara did not really fulfill his great potential and made all too few films. This stands as his masterwork and a fitting elegy to his memory.

If you are a fan of Japanese cinema, then this is surely compulsory viewing. Filmed in a very atmospheric black and white (colur would not have had the same drama),it draws you in from the start by the exceptional cinematography and unusual location and subject matter. It's one of those films that leaves you contemplating the fragility and resilience of the human condition and the somewhat ambiguous ending (to my dull mind at least!) only adds to the speculation your mind is forced to consider. It also has some of the most intensely erotic and sensual scenes I've ever seen on film, which are balanced by some moments of real tenderness. You'll also never view sand in quite the same way again!