Between the superb acting, the masterful cinematography and the myriad possible interpretations (either uplifting, disquieting or utterly terrifying, depending on your take on it), if you can't find anything to like here you're beyond help and should probably be wearing a helmet at all times.

Made me want to take a shower immediately afterwards, to wash all the sand away.

650

misogynistic trash. yours sincerely, a chang cheh fan.

A masterpiece. Teshigahara portrays the sand as being just as awe-inspiring as it is completely terrifying. Life in the pit, and by extension life in general, is depicted as an endless struggle for survival against an overpowering and unstoppable force. Entertaining and imaginative but also increasingly unsettling as the entomologist's search for significance and meaning becomes more and more desperate.

A masterpiece in every sense. Takemitsu's score is incredible.

The mix of mounting menace and mystical character study is used to great effect. A masterfully directed existential tale that's achingly beautiful and filled with riveting imagery.

Hauntingly eerie mood in this very metaphoric movie about commitment called home. I did not find a woman stupid. He was more a portrait of a woman, something what men could expect women to be. And the sand. It was really everywhere. It made you thristy during and after the seeing experience.

Incredible. It's astonishingly powerful and highly odd, with a nightmarish black and white aesthetic. It seems silly to say this on paper (or, erm, net), but the photography of the sand is eerie and excellent. It cracks, it falls, it's endless and enveloping. And it's really creepy.

A fascinating film about an entomologist who finds himself trapped in a sand-pit with a woman who must constantly shovel the sand away, lest it destroy her house. It brings Kafka to mind, but otherwise it feels truly original. Teshigahara's direction is strong, and his keen eye (some of the shots of falling sand are truly remarkable) complements Okada and Kishida's excellent performances. It's not quite the knockout some have called it, but I found it quite enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Few films have conveyed a sense of being trapped as well as this one. The stunningly bleak visuals and uncomfortable music turns what would normally be a dull movie into an incredibly tense one.

I agree with everyone that has said that this is a wonderfully made movie from a visual standpoint. I have no arguments against it... the sand is a character and the movie looks beautiful and dark. The acting was also good, the soundtrack was right-on. Where I feel the movie stumbles a bit is how it tells its narrative. I found it tedious at times. However, there were times I was thrilled by it, and wanted to see more. I was entertained a lot more than I was bored, but still.

Great concept and compelling development hindered only by it's length.

This existential thriller is erotic, creepy, beautiful, and taught me a thing or two about wells.

An amazingly shot, evocative, visceral movie.

May be I am not wise enough to appreciate the movie. May be I don't understand deep movies. May be I can't appreciate 'real cinema'. Whatever it is, it was an ordeal for me to sit through this movie. It has got a odd story which is the only thing in its favour.

#630

Outstanding cinematography. This movie is something special, it's fascinating.

Fantastic.

You ever have that moment when watching a film or listening to a record where you realize that you're experiencing something incredible? Seven minutes and fifty-two seconds into Woman in the Dunes, I had that feeling. The camera cuts to a perfect shot (one of hundreds here; this is one of the most impeccably shot films I've ever seen), that you'll likely know when you see it. And for me, it ranks alongside Vertigo as one of the best Thrillers of all time, providing literal chills throughout.

I saw the end coming, yet I nearly had a panic attack when it finally happened anyway. It overwhelmed me with terror and anguish in a way no other film has. Briliant - and I haven't even given thought to the subtext. There are a lot of little details that may annoy you -- the physical impossibility of the scenario, some of the characters motives, etc. -- but they are easily overlooked as they are essentially meaningless.

A work of endless complexity and mystery. I'm still a little dizzy and sort of drunk on its power and that's always a good thing.

The sand - it's beautiful, it's horrible, it's everywhere, it's everything.

782

The vehement close-ups and "provocative" editing style is what's most striking; the characters' claustrophobia, desperation and despair is intrusively manifested by the camera's eager presence and constant curiosity, the sand and skin almost attacking the screen. The unreliable soundtrack further evoke and raise the nervosity in the unusual setting, and the acting's fucking amazing. Cinema in a stunning shape and exciting spirit.