The Pillow Book main backdrop
The Pillow Book main poster

The Pillow Book

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6.5/10 • 169

1995-09-012h 6m

DramaRomance

A woman with a body writing fetish seeks to find a combined lover and calligrapher.

Directors
Peter Greenaway
Writters
Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway
Editors
Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway, Peter Greenaway

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Vivian Wu

    Vivian Wu

    Nagiko

  2. Yoshi Oida

    Yoshi Oida

    The Publisher

  3. Ken Ogata

    Ken Ogata

    The Father

  4. Hideko Yoshida

    Hideko Yoshida

    The Aunt / The Maid

  5. Ewan McGregor

    Ewan McGregor

    Jerome

  6. Yutaka Honda

    Yutaka Honda

    Hoki

  7. Judy Ongg

    Judy Ongg

    The Mother

  8. Ken Mitsuishi

    Ken Mitsuishi

    The Husband

  9. Barbara Lott

    Barbara Lott

    Jerome's Mother

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jan 26, 2024

7/10

Hmmm. The thing about films that showcase the male body quite this much is that after a while you start wondering why blokes with perfect physiques and faces always seem to have such an underwhelming payload down below! Anyway, the young "Nagiko" (Vivian Wu) recalls the memories from her childhood when her father used to paint some delicately elegant calligraphy on her face. These perfectly crafted characters - and some accompanying and wonderfully enigmatic stories, all emanated from the works of a lady-in-waiting at the 10th century Heian court in Japan. Subsequently, as an adult she is fascinated by this form of art, and with painting the bodies of those who share her rather lively sex life. "Jerome" (Ewan McGregor) has slovenly hand-writing that drives her mad, but soon they are enthralled with each other and he becomes one of the the more willing partners joining in with her games of sex and scribe-work. There's no doubt that some of the body work she creates would be the envy of many a modern day tattooist. Now there's got to be a twist - and soon she discovers that "Jerome" likes his oysters and his snails - and that he is having a dalliance with a publisher who made life difficult for her father. She sees an opportunity to not just get even, but to get her own book out there too. The presentation, like the book, is delivered in chapters. That's not always the easiest to follow, nor are they in anyway chronological - the narrative has a rather rambling mind of it's own sometimes and that does undermine the literary value of this leaving us with a story that does jar occasionally. Essentially, in the end it's a gorgeously photographed aesthetic that works well sometimes, not so well others. It's not a great story, but it's a creative and visionary look at the beauty of the male body - and personality - as seen through a woman with love, lust and revenge in her eyes. Bizarrely compelling to watch - it could have done without any dialogue at all and just been presented as a soundtrack-only piece of attractive cinema.

Media

  • The Pillow Book poster
  • The Pillow Book poster
  • The Pillow Book poster
  • The Pillow Book poster
  • The Pillow Book poster
  • The Pillow Book poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
adulterytokyo, japancalligraphycomplexgay themeintense