Woman in the Dune
Woman in the Dunes aka as “Suna no Onna” directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, which is a film adaptation of Kobo Abe’s novel.
Scene description
(Time code)
Narration
Man seating in the small house.
(24:21 – 25:01)
The story begins with a school teacher, who is on an expedition collecting sand bugs alone in the sand dunes area. He missed the last bus out of the dessert and so the local villagers offer to let him stay overnight in one of the recently widow’s house which is below the dunes. From this night on, he is forced to help her shovel away the sand, so that by day, the sand will not engulf her little house. This is the scene where the teacher spend his first night. He is still unaware of the trap and The widow had just left the room to run some errand.
The teacher leaving the room
(25:01 – 25:20)
The director present the film in a restricted narrative manner, so we only learned information solely through The Teacher perspective. This is important as it creates curiosity and suspense.
Hiroshi Teshigahara uses Mise-en-scene to set the mood. The lighted room looks safe, but once the Teacher steps out of the room; it immediately changes into a dark room, creating a Silhouette that made him look small .
The teacher approaches the widow
(25:21-25:50)
It has been mentioned that with one lamp of illumination, the conversation between the man and the woman assumes a quick sense of intimacy, but I prefer to see it as a function of the lamp as to restrict us from knowing too much.
This POV of shot of the teacher seeing the widow allow a degree of subjectivity, that I could feel the widow has already starts to treat The Teacher as a lover more than a guest.
Words and image in Japanese cinema- Linda C. Ehrlich and Antonio Santos
“First day”
(25:51 - 26:00)
James Quanbt had mention in his video essay that he sees the teacher as a scientific person who derive his knowledge through books and theory. He sees the woman as a intelligent and observant
Scene description
(Time code)
Narration
Man seating in the small house.
(24:21 – 25:01)
The story begins with a school teacher, who is on an expedition collecting sand bugs alone in the sand dunes area. He missed the last bus out of the dessert and so the local villagers offer to let him stay overnight in one of the recently widow’s house which is below the dunes. From this night on, he is forced to help her shovel away the sand, so that by day, the sand will not engulf her little house. This is the scene where the teacher spend his first night. He is still unaware of the trap and The widow had just left the room to run some errand.
The teacher leaving the room
(25:01 – 25:20)
The director present the film in a restricted narrative manner, so we only learned information solely through The Teacher perspective. This is important as it creates curiosity and suspense.
Hiroshi Teshigahara uses Mise-en-scene to set the mood. The lighted room looks safe, but once the Teacher steps out of the room; it immediately changes into a dark room, creating a Silhouette that made him look small .
The teacher approaches the widow
(25:21-25:50)
It has been mentioned that with one lamp of illumination, the conversation between the man and the woman assumes a quick sense of intimacy, but I prefer to see it as a function of the lamp as to restrict us from knowing too much.
This POV of shot of the teacher seeing the widow allow a degree of subjectivity, that I could feel the widow has already starts to treat The Teacher as a lover more than a guest.
Words and image in Japanese cinema- Linda C. Ehrlich and Antonio Santos
“First day”
(25:51 - 26:00)
James Quanbt had mention in his video essay that he sees the teacher as a scientific person who derive his knowledge through books and theory. He sees the woman as a intelligent and observant
Bibliography: Bordwell D. & Thompson K., Film Art, An introduction, McGraw-Hill, N.Y. 2008 Mellen J., Voices from the Japanese Cinema, Liveright, N.Y. 1975 Philip A. & Stringer J., Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts, Routledge, London & N.Y. 2007 Washburn D. & Cavanaugh C.,Word and Image in Japanese Cinema, Cambridge University Press, U.K. Essays http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Woman-Dunes/117987 http://www.mona.uwi.edu/liteng/courses/e10f/documents/Woman%20in%20the%20Dunes.doc.