Dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara · Starring Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Kōji Mitsui, Hiroko Itō, Sen Yano, Hideo Kanze · Music Tōru Takemitsu
“Haunting. Erotic. Unforgettable.”
DramaThriller
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.
VIBE
A suffocating, sun-baked descent into primal desperation. The relentless sand becomes a character, mirroring the protagonist's psychological unraveling. It's a stark, unsettling exploration of captivity and the erosion of the self.
claustrophobicoppressivedesperatevisceralexistentialslow-burnarthouseavant-gardeblack and whiteminimalistentrapmenthumanity's primal urgesabsurditydespair
▶ Stream on Criterion Channel, Darkroom
based on novel or bookinsectsandart housewater shortagepsychological thrillerblack and whiteheld captiveskintrappedmissing personsexual torturesand duneerotic photographywater pumpjapanese new waveslave laborentomologist