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The Pillow Book (1996) 6.5
Ratings:
6.5/10 from 8,547 users
Metascore: 64/100
Reviews: 90 user | 50 critic | 20 from Metacritic.com As a young girl in Japan, Nagiko's father paints characters on her face, and her aunt reads to her from "The Pillow Book", the diary of a 10th-century lady-in-waiting. Nagiko grows up, ... See full summary » Director:Peter Greenaway |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Vivian Wu | ... | ||
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Yoshi Oida | ... |
The Publisher
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Ken Ogata | ... |
The Father
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Hideko Yoshida | ... |
The Aunt /
The Maid
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| Ewan McGregor | ... |
Jerome
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Judy Ongg | ... |
The Mother
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Ken Mitsuishi | ... |
The Husband
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Yutaka Honda | ... |
Hoki
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Barbara Lott | ... |
Jerome's Mother
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Miwako Kawai | ... |
Young Nagiko
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| Lynne Langdon | ... |
Jerome's sister
(as Lynne Frances Wachendorfer)
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Chizuru Ohnishi | ... |
Young Nagiko
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Shiho Takamatsu | ... |
Young Nagiko
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Aki Ishimaru | ... |
Young Nagiko
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Hisashi Hidaka | ... |
Calligrapher
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
As a young girl in Japan, Nagiko's father paints characters on her face, and her aunt reads to her from "The Pillow Book", the diary of a 10th-century lady-in-waiting. Nagiko grows up, obsessed with books, papers, and writing on bodies, and her sexual odyssey (and the creation of her own Pillow Book) is a "parfait mélange" of classical Japanese, modern Chinese, and Western film images. Written by Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>
Taglines:
From the creator of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover comes a sensuous tale of passion, obsession and revenge. See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
6 June 1997 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
O Livro de Cabeceira See more »Box Office
Opening Weekend:
$105,922 (USA) (6 June 1997)Gross:
$2,293,037 (USA) (15 August 1997)Company Credits
Production Co:
Kasander & Wigman Productions, Woodline Films Ltd., Alpha Film Corporation See more »
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company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Aspect Ratio:
1.75 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The keeping of pillow books to record poems, secrets, and encounters with lovers was a common practice of noble women in Heian Japan. Although its content is unrelated to the film, a famous example was written by Sei Shonagon at about the same time as Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji which has the honor of being the world's first novel. In fact, it has been said that Sei Shonogon and Lady Murasaki were rivals in the court of Heian. See more »Goofs
Mike visible during wide shot when Nagiko kneels and Jerome signs his name on her back. 01:03:59 into the film on PAL DVDs. See more »Quotes
Nagiko: When God made the first clay model of a human being, He painted in the eyes... the lips... and the sex. And then He painted in each person's name lest the person should ever forget it. If God approved of His creation, He brought the painted clay model into life by signing His own name.See more »
Seems most, if not all, movies today are so formulaic (I can only watch so much Jane Austen: Bridget Jones' Diary, Cold Comfort Farm, others?). A revenge/love story, this picture made me fall in love with Ewan McGregor! Such a skilled actor at such an early age and willing to go to such extremes! Because the acting, camera and editing were so fabulous, this movie could have easily been without words.
Ewan's character was so innocent and gullible. The female lead's character was very strong and overpowering. Imagine being in the position of having to protect your father and then seek vengeance on his destroyer. And such a small delicate woman.
While there were some awkward moments revealing the immaturity of the female lead and some disgusting circumstances propelling her toward revenge, in all, I have to rate this movie excellent for the editing, camera, story, and high impact acting. It was very moving.