Kōbō Abe

Writing

Kōbō Abe

Born March 7, 1924 · Kita, Tokyo, Japan

Died January 22, 1993 · aged 68

Kōbō Abe, pseudonym of Kimifusa Abe (March 7, 1924 – January 22, 1993) was a Japanese writer, playwright, photographer and inventor. Abe has been often compared to Franz Kafka and Alberto Moravia for his surreal, often nightmarish explorations of individuals in contemporary society and his modernist sensibilities. Among the honors bestowed on him were the Akutagawa Prize in 1951 for The Crime of …

Known For

Woman in the DunesWoman in the Dunes · 1964
Woman in the Dunes
8.21964
MovieDramaThriller
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.
The Face of AnotherThe Face of Another · 1966
The Face of Another
7.81966
MovieDramaScience Fiction
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
The Man Without a MapThe Man Without a Map · 1968
The Man Without a Map
6.71968
MovieMystery
A private detective is hired to find a missing man by his wife. While his search is unsuccessful, the detective's own life begins to resemble the man for whom he is searching.
The Box ManThe Box Man · 2024
The Box Man
6.82024
MovieDrama
A photographer becomes intrigued by a mysterious man who has chosen to filter his experience of the world through a cardboard box placed over his head.
PitfallPitfall · 1962
Pitfall
7.31962
MovieMysteryFantasy
A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.
The Thick-Walled RoomThe Thick-Walled Room · 1956
The Thick-Walled Room
7.21956
MovieDramaWar
A group of rank-and-file soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.
AkoAko · 1964
Ako
6.81964
MovieDrama
A day in the life of Ako, a 16-year-old Japanese girl, and her friends and co-workers. An alarm clock wakes her in a dorm; she gets ready for work and travels to a large bakery. We see her with friends, chatting and laughing, as well as working. They go out, seven of them jammed in an old Pontiac: bowling, then to an amusement park, then driving around. Car trouble may put her at risk. Is she going to be okay? One of four film sketches on the problems of adolescents facing the adult world in the 1960s included in the anthology film That Tender Age (La fleur de l'âge, ou Les adolescentes). The three other sketches were directed by Michel Brault, Jean Rouch, and Gian Vittorio Baldi.
FriendsFriends · 1987
Friends
5.61987
MovieDrama
John is a legal assistant who is looking forward to marriage to his fiancee Sally, but his daydream is interrupted when a model plane crashes through his window. Following the plane is a family of six who invade his life and apartment.

Filmography

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