School teacher and amateur entomologist Niki leaves Tokyo on a beach expedition. After a long day of research, Junpei misses the last bus trip back to the city. A village elder and some of his local fellow villagers suggest he spend the night in their village. Junpei agrees and is led along a rope ladder to a hut at the bottom of a sand dune, the home of a young woman. After dinner, the woman goes out to collect the sand in buckets, which the villagers pull in from the top of the dune. Junpei offers to help but she refuses, telling him that she is a guest and that there is no need for her t...

School teacher and amateur entomologist Niki leaves Tokyo on a beach expedition. After a long day of research, Junpei misses the last bus trip back to the city. A village elder and some of his local fellow villagers suggest he spend the night in their village. Junpei agrees and is led along a rope ladder to a hut at the bottom of a sand dune, the home of a young woman. After dinner, the woman goes out to collect the sand in buckets, which the villagers pull in from the top of the dune. Junpei offers to help but she refuses, telling him that she is a guest and that there is no need for her to help him on the first day. The next morning, Junpei prepares to leave because he has to go back to work in Tokyo, but he discovers that the rope ladder has been pulled over him. Unable to escape as the sand surrounding the hut is too steep and does not give him enough grip to climb, he soon realizes he is trapped and should live with the woman and help her dig up sand, which is sold to cement producers, in change of food and water. Junpei reluctantly accepts his role, which the woman has long since accepted without doubts. Junpei becomes the widow's mistress but hopes to escape the dune. One evening, using a makeshift grappling hook, he escapes the sand dune and flees, the villagers in pursuit. Junpei is unfamiliar with the geography of the area and gets trapped in quicksand. The villagers free him and bring him back to the hut. Eventually, Junpei resigns herself to his situation but asks for time to see the nearby sea; in return, he needs to have sex with the woman while the villagers watch. Junpei agrees but she rejects and rejects him. Through his effort he discovers a way to draw water from moist sand at night by capillary action and is absorbed in perfecting the technique. When it is discovered that the woman is ill, the villagers take her to a doctor, leaving the rope ladder down when they go. Junpei instead chooses to stay, telling himself that he can still try to escape after showing the villagers his method of producing water. The latest shot of the film is from a police report showing Junpei has been missing for seven years and reported missing.

Released: 1964.

Genres: Drama, Thriller.
Countries: Japan.
Language: Japanese.
Video: Black and white