Woman in the Dunes (1964)

When amateur entomologist Eiji Okada misses the last bus home after a beetle expedition, local villagers offer him board at a young woman’s cabin which sits on the bottom of a large sand dune. Unfortunately their hospitality masks ulterior motives. Initially, there’s quite a bit of privilege that Okada’s character holds in his situation. He can’t imagine this other way of living nor that people won’t rationalize things the same way he does. There’s a great claustrophobic atmosphere to the locale. The cabin is small and tightly packed with the dunes towering above, sand constantly trickling in at varying intervals.

Oscar Nominations: Best Director; Best Foreign Language Film