Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Woman in the Dunes (1964) looks to me like a film that could have been made in the nineties. It's got an avant-guard character to it that seems to belie its year of origin. It was the work of a singular Japanese director, Hiroshi Teshigahara.
Historical Background: Hiroshi Teshigahara was born January 28th, 1927 in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, son of a man famous in his own right, Sufu Teshigahara, who was founder and a grand master of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. Ikebana is the Japanese art of floral arrangements in which one tries to represent the three elements of sky, earth, and mankind in a harmonious and balanced but radically asymmetrical relationship. In Ikebana, the meaning of what is present is made more profound by what is absent but implied. Ikebana is relevant to the work of the younger Teshigahara, as well, because he later became headmaster (lemoto) of the Sogetsu School himself after his father's death and practiced Ikebana (as well as sculpturing) throughout his filmmaking career.
Hiroshi Teshigahara graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1950. It was more than a decade thereafter when he directed his first film, The Pitfall (1961), written by Kôbô Abe (based on his own novel) and with a soundtrack by Toru Takemitsu, a pair that Teshigahara would collaborate with repeatedly. These colleagues were among a group of Tokyo-based Japanese intellectuals who were interested in the fusion of traditional Japanese culture and values with Western ideals. The Woman in the Dunes (1964), Teshigahara's second film, was highly avant-guard and earned an Academy Award nomination as well as a Special Judge's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Teshigahara made just two additional films during the sixties: That Tender Age (1964) and The Face of Another (1966).
In 1972, Teshigahara made an interesting film called Summer Soldiers, which related to American deserters from the Vietnam War who were living in Japan, on the outer fringe of Japanese society. After that, Teshigahara's cinematic output became sporadic. His next film, Antonio Gaudi, was not made until 1985. His last two films were Rikyu (1989) and Basara: Princess Goh (1992). Teshigahara died of leukemia on April 15th, 2001 in Tokyo. For those interested in the work of this novel individual, four of his films are in the Epinions database and an intriguing DVD boxed set was released in Japan on the first anniversary of his death.
The Story: Niki Jumpei (Eiji Okada) is an entomologist from Tokyo who is using a bit of his vacation time to hunt for a rare and yet-to-be-classified variety of tiger beetle in the sand dunes of a remote Japanese beach. He hopes to immortalize his name in the professional journals in his specialty area, since the beetle would be named after whoever first reports it. While taking a break in his work and stretching out on the sand, he bemoans the meaningless nature of his humdrum existence. He is jarred out of his reverie when some of the local residents come by and inform him that he has missed the last bus back to the city. He'll have to stay the night, but there are no hotels or motels in this remote locale. The locals suggest that he stay in a home in their village. They know a woman who will be glad to put him up for the night.
The home is little more than a shack and, more surprisingly, it's located at the bottom of a large sand pit. Niki has to climb down a rope ladder. The dwelling has neither electricity nor running water, but beggars can't be choosers, so Niki will make do for the night. His hostess is quite pleasant and makes him as comfortable as is feasible under the circumstances. In conversation with her, Niki discovers that she is a young widow (Kyôko Kishida), who lost her husband and daughter a year or so earlier in a vicious sandstorm. The residents of this community wage a constant battle against the shifting sands. The sand holds moisture, which rots the beams that support the roofs on their shacks. The woman has to shovel sand many hours each night to keep her home from being inundated. Niki offers to help, but the woman replies, "Not on your first day."
In the morning, Niki prepares to set off on his way, but discovers that the rope ladder has been removed. He awakens the woman, but it quickly becomes evident that she is either unable or unwilling to help him get out. He tries repeatedly but futilely to find a part of the walls of the pit that he can climb, but the sand always gives way. Soon it becomes apparent that the woman of the dunes and the villagers are in cahoots and that he has been forcibly abducted as a replacement husband for the woman, since the work is too much for her alone. Niki is furious. He ties the woman up and gags her while plotting how he might escape. He threatens to leave her tied up until the villagers hoist him out. He refuses to work (to shovel away the accumulating sand) or to allow the woman to work. The villagers, however, have the upper hand and simply cut off his water and rations until he relents.
Niki decides he'll have to cooperate while also plotting an escape. He and the woman shovel and their rations and water supply are renewed. He works on constructing a knotted rope for an escape. As the days and nights go by, he is in constant close contact with the woman. She is quite attractive and sleeps in the nude "to avoid sand-rash." While brushing the sand off her, he is overwhelmed by desire and the two soon become lovers. Nevertheless, he continues to secretly work on a plan of escape.
SPOILERS AHEAD! SKIP TO THEMES TO AVOID.
One night, he plies her with Sake and lovemaking to ensure that she will sleep soundly. The time has come for his escape attempt. He succeeds in climbing out of the pit with his homemade rope. Once on the surface, he flees, but soon becomes trapped in a pit of quicksand. He has to call for help and, after the rescue, gets unceremoniously returned to his "home" with the woman. Later, he builds a makeshift crow trap, hoping to catch a crow and tie a rescue note to one of its legs. Instead, he accidentally discovers that water can be collected by osmosis by burying a porous wooden barrel in the sand floor of the pit. Niki also makes another startling discovery: the woman is pregnant with his child. She goes into labor but it is complicated and she has to be transported to a hospital. The villagers inadvertently leave the rope ladder in place as they rush her away. Niki climbs out of the pit and begins to make his escape, but relents. He returns to the pit, deciding that he can now leave whenever he chooses and there's no particular reason to leave today. After all, he has a child on the way, a wife to look after, and he's discovered a way of collecting unlimited water that will significantly improve the desperate lives of these poor villagers.
Themes: Obviously this story is allegorical. Taken simply as an unlawful confinement story, the logic of the narrative is too fragile to stand up to close scrutiny. The most evident level of meaning is pretty clear. Whether there are other more subtle levels of meaning I cannot say. This is a film about the meaning of existence. What is it that makes life worthwhile? On the one hand, Niki had his life in Tokyo, consisting of a job in which he was unappreciated and unlikely to make any kind of lasting mark and a wife or ex-wife with whom he had a largely argumentative relationship (shown via a segment of Niki's recollection). On the other hand, the new life that has been forced on him has been reduced to the basics of biological and social survival: eating, drinking, sleeping, maintaining a shelter, and reproducing. One is the highly artificial and synthetic lifestyle built around modern technology and fast-paced society; the other the traditional rural life close to nature and poverty. We know that Niki has both some dissatisfaction with his old life and some predilection for the simplicity of nature, since he's chosen to spend his vacation time in a remote seaside desert hunting for beetles. This film poses an implicit question to modern viewers: "Are you happy with your stressful, high-paced lifestyle or would you be happier with a simpler approach?"
Certainly, we are tempted to condemn the villages for abducting Niki, forcibly recruiting him into their way of life. Theirs is a life-and-death struggle, however, for the survival of their community. If one home is swept under by the sand, the next is likely to fall as well. There was just too much work for the woman to carry out by herself. I don't mean to justify the abduction but only to observe that tribes and clans and ethnic groups have historically done whatever needed to be done for their continuing survival.
In my own life, I've noted, over the years, that each of us has our own idea of what most gives meaning to our lives. I've encountered a lot of people who take more pleasure than I do in the simple activities of daily living – preparing a meal and sitting down together to consume it, casual conversation (so-called "small talk"), hanging out together at a nightclub and shooting the breeze or dancing. I am no longer so arrogant as to dismiss such activities as "a waste of time" or "trivial." I've learned to appreciate that each of us marches to our own drummer, each of us dances to our own tunes. I personally still find the most pleasure in activities of the mind, activities that are usually quite distinct from daily living: listening to a stirring piece of music, watching a great film (preferably foreign, of course), "deep" conversations about meanings in life or art, or romantic interactions that penetrate to one's soul. I just don't have the appreciation for shoveling sand that Niki developed in The Woman in the Dunes. I mostly view such activities, necessary for mere survival, as something to get through as expeditiously as possible in order to get to what I experience as more profound. I don't say that my approach is "right," only that it's my approach. Had I been Niki in this film, I would have been on my way back to Tokyo! That doesn't diminish my respect for or enjoyment of the film, however. The important thing about this film is that it raises an issue of fundamental importance (what makes life meaningful?), not whether you agree or disagree with its implied answer.
Production Values: This is a fine movie, fully deserving of the four-stars I intend to give it. It falls short of five-stars, in my opinion, because its symbolism is a bit too blatant. The allegorical meaning of this Kafkaesque story is driven home a bit too forcefully. Nothing is left to the viewer's intelligence or imagination. If there are additional levels of meaning that have evaded me, then I may be wrong on this point, though it really only modifies the point a bit. Whatever part of the symbolism of this film is not overly obvious is overly obscure! I don't mean to belabor this shortcoming, because overall this is an intriguing and substantial film.
I haven't mentioned yet how sensuous this film is, at times. There are a couple of lovemaking scenes that are remarkably intense even though not graphic in the least. There are many delicate close-ups of skin, sand, and sandy skin. It is in these shots, more than anywhere else in the film, that I imagine the influence of Teshigahara's involvement with Ikebana. The sand represents the earth element, the skin is the human element, and the skies the limit for this pair's passion for one another. It's all incredibly erotic without being crude. In another scene, the woman lathers Niki's legs and back as be bathes in a pan of hot water. The photography is exotic black-and-white. Almost the entire story takes place in one film set.
I very much enjoyed the soundtrack. Some viewers may not, however. It is in the style of electronic classical music, with which I've had enough experience to be comfortable and intrigued. It fit with the science fiction-like story premise.
Eiji Okada is best known for a very strong performance in Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959). His performance here is even better. Interestingly, both films are highly romantic stories carried mainly by two characters. Kyoko Kishida had a role every bit as challenging as that of her co-star. Her character is more complex than just a physically attractive love interest. She's experienced tragedy, stoically accepts Niki lashing out in anger over his situation, and holds to her faith in her way of life. Kishida skillfully manages that extensive range of inner feelings.
Bottom-Line: I've got a VHS version of this film, from "Connoisseur Video Collection." This is not an easy film to locate, so you may need some patience finding it. The print in my version had a lot of nicks, scratches, and debris. It's a bizarre, erotic, and highly charged film. I found it intriguing and not slow-moving at all, despite a running time of 123 minutes. It is in Japanese with English subtitles.
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