Woman in the Dunes

Woman in the Dunes (砂の女, Suna No Onna, also translated as Woman of the Dunes), is a novel by Kobo Abe and a film based on that novel directed by Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara. The novel was published in 1962, and the film was released in 1964. Kobo Abe also wrote the screenplay for the film version.

Related Topics:
Kobo Abe - Japanese - Hiroshi Teshigahara - 1962 - 1964

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The surreal, and at times absurd, nature of Woman in the Dunes has drawn many comparisons to such major existentialist works as Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit and Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. Aside from its intriguing premise, this film is notable for the life that Teshigahara brings to the ever shifting sand, which almost becomes a character in its own right.

Related Topics:
Existentialist - Jean-Paul Sartre - No Exit - Samuel Beckett - Happy Days

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Somewhat unusually for an avant-garde film, Woman in the Dunes was successful in gaining attention at the major film award ceremonies. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1964 Cannes film festival, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in the same year (losing out to Italian film Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow). In 1965 Teshigahara was nominated for the Best Director Oscar (finishing behind Robert Wise for The Sound of Music).

Related Topics:
Avant-garde - Cannes film festival - Best Foreign Language Film - Oscar - Italian - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - 1965 - Best Director - Robert Wise - The Sound of Music

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