The Pillow Book (1995)

September 1, 1995 (FR) • Drama, Romance • 126m

Overview

Nagito has a fetish for calligraphy on the human body and meets her ideal soulmate Jerome, an English translator sent to Japan. However, once Nagiko's father's gay publisher rejoins the scene, the story is overtaken by treachery and bloodlust.

Director

Peter Greenaway

Writers

Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway

Top Billed

Vivian Wu

Keywords

adultery tokyo, japan based on memoir or autobiography calligraphy complex gay theme erotic romance intense

Where to watch

Rent

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Top Billed Cast

Vivian Wu

Nagiko

Yoshi Oida

The Publisher

Ken Ogata

The Father

Hideko Yoshida

The Aunt / The Maid

Ewan McGregor

Jerome

Yutaka Honda

Hoki

Judy Ongg

The Mother

Ken Mitsuishi

The Husband

Barbara Lott

Jerome's Mother

Lynne Langdon

Jerome's sister

Ronald Guttman

Calligrapher

Samuel Leung Cheuk-Moon

Adrian Kwan

Crew

Peter Greenaway

Director

Peter Greenaway

Editor

Chris Wyatt

Editor

Sei Shonagon

Writer

Peter Greenaway

Writer

Sacha Vierny

Director of Photography

Ben Zuydwijk

Painter

Kees Kasander

Producer

Carrie O'Brien

Casting

Aimi O

Casting

Abi Cohen

Casting

Kôichi Hamamura

Production Design

Hitomi Ishihara

Casting

Liora Reich

Casting

Noriko Sato

Makeup Artist

Cliff Jones

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Hiroto Oonogi

Production Design

Koji Tatsuno

Costume Design

Sara Meerman

Makeup Artist

Vivian Nowak

Makeup Artist

Dien van Straalen

Costume Design

Wilbert Van Dorp

Production Design

Andrée Putman

Production Design

Otto Snel

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Martin Margiela

Costume Design

Seiji Arai

Makeup Artist

Cathy Folmer

Makeup Artist

Shoko Ishigaki

Makeup Artist

Willemijn Loivers

Production Design

Julian Slater

Sound Effects Editor

Kyoko Toyokawa

Makeup Artist

Noriyuki Tanaka

Production Design

Terry Glinwood

Executive Producer

Denis Wigman

Executive Producer

Jean-Louis Piel

Executive Producer

Brian Eno

Original Music Composer

Tom Reeve

Executive Producer

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

January 26, 2024

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.

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The Pillow Book (1995)

Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

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