Stranded in a remote region of Japan, an entomologist (Iiji Okada, star of Hiroshima Mon Amour) is given shelter for the night in a sand pit inhabited by a hapless woman (Kyoko Kishida). She slaves day and night to unearth the enormous amounts of sand necessary for her community's survival. When morning comes, he finds himself a prisoner to the sand pit, expected to work at her side and be her mate. To his surprise, the scientist develops an intense bond with his companion and resigns himself to an eternity of hypnotic routine. An allegory probing the depths of identity and alienation, this film has become an enduring classic and is best known as a heavily symbolic erotic drama which effectively uses extreme closeups so that the characters become part of the landscape. The film's passionate existential contemplations offer simple and affectingly direct metaphors for the human condition.