Woman in the Dunes is one of those rare gems of a film that should be brought out to re-watch every few years, preferably with a group of friends because it warrants discussion on many levels: An investigation into the human condition, an exploration of human nature, an artistic work of poetic beauty and symbolism.
The basic storyline of this Japanese fable resonates with the ideas promoted by the French existentialist philosophers such as Sarte and Camus. A meaningful life is not imposed by the external world but comes from the way we engage with that world. The protagonist initially seeks meaning for his life in his pursuit of entomology, but ultimately finds it instead in what would seem to be an unlikely place: the bottom of a sand pit.
The psychological underpinnings of this movie from the 1960s have surprising fidelity with modern findings in psychology and anthropology. All of us humans experience powerful emotions, albeit sometimes too deep-seated to be expressed. We also have yearnings (sometimes unconscious) to share those feelings with others. This motivation to share emotional states with others is one of the primary psychological characteristics that separates us humans from other animals, and explains many uniquely human activities (including the arts). This universal human psychological trait is expressed powerfully, in the film.
As a visual work of art the film is stunning. The camera lingers on transitions and transformations from skin to hair, hair to sand, sand to water, and back again – mesmerizing and surprisingly sensual.
The narrative ending is left somewhat ambiguous regarding the relationship of the entomologist with the woman he meets in the dunes. My personal interpretation is that the 7-year time gap revealed in the last scene occurred before the next to the last scene where a small boy of about six is shown briefly peering into the pit. I like to think the couple married after the birth of a healthy son and then the lived happily ever after as a family.
I gave this film a rating of 4 stars.
Ron Boothe