A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
based on novel or book
insect
sand
art house
water shortage
psychological thriller
black and white
held captive
skin
trapped
missing person
sexual torture
sand dune
erotic photography
water pump
japanese new wave
slave labor
entomologist
escape attempt
sand pit
forced labor
texture
avant garde
disappeared
barbaric behavior
Rank
#2 in 1964·#115 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
4.5 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Eiji Okada
Entomologist Niki Jumpei
Kyôko Kishida
The Woman
Kōji Mitsui
Village Elder
Crew
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Director
Kōbō Abe
Screenplay
Toru Takemitsu
Original Music Composer
Kōbō Abe
Novel
Popular Reviews
401 reviews
Kiravien
9.0★ · 11/14/25
"I'm so frightened every morning when I go to sleep that I'll wake up alone again. That really frightens me."
"I'm so frightened every morning when I go to sleep that I'll wake up alone again. That really frightens me."
1
Giskylll
10.0★ · 04/25/25
1
ZodiacPRO
10.0★ · 03/25/26
Extreme 100
The sand in this film was the true villain, it's really hauting. One of the best film that take place in the desert.
