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‘WOMAN IN THE DUNES’

In this beautifully photographed 1964 film by legendary Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara, an entomologist is held captive in a large hole in the desert, where he’s forced by the local villagers to be a companion to the titular woman in the dunes. The plot is Sisyphean in nature: The protagonist hatches an escape plan but is thwarted; he finally emerges from his prison, only to get caught while wandering the featureless desert. Eventually, he grows to love his new lifestyle and the “sand woman,” as evidenced by the risqué — for 1964 Japan, anyway — sex scenes.

Geologist: The black and white lighting and how there’s almost an ambient feel to that movie, that’s what I liked about that movie. It’s almost like putting on an ambient record. You have to remember, too, we’re referencing the VHS copy that Kim’s Video used to have or something. When I think of Woman in the Dunes I think of this grainy VHS copy where you can really barely make out what was happening in the movie, it was just black and white contrast the entire time.

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