Woman of the Dunes (15)

Stark, haunting, brilliantly cinematic, a true one-of-a-kind that has to be seen on the big screen

Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Starring: Eji Okada, Kyoko Kishida
Japan, 1964, B/W, subtitles, 2 hours 4 minutes

Mon 1 March 2.15pm The Courtyard Hereford

A film like no other; the plot is simple, the telling truly memorable. After a day spent collecting insects among the dunes, Junpei misses the last bus and is invited by local villagers to take shelter in a widow's ramshackle hut. In the morning he finds himself trapped and forced to shovel away the sand that fills the pit every night. Out of this simple, if bizarre, situation Teshigahara constructs a highly charged and remarkably sensual exploration of the human condition. Accompanied by chilling, minimalist score, a succession of extraordinary images - the sand, water, the erotic attraction between the couple - builds up a haunting physicality.