The Pillow Book (1996)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writers:

Sei Shonagon (book)
Peter Greenaway (written by)

Release Date:

6 June 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Things that make the heart beat faster.

Plot:

As a young girl in Japan, Nagiko's father paints characters on her face, and her aunt reads to her from "The Pillow Book"...

Plot Keywords:

Book | Writing On Body | Japan | 10th Century | Diary

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Vivian Wu	...	Nagiko
Yoshi Oida	...	The Publisher
Ken Ogata	...	The Father
Hideko Yoshida	...	The Aunt / The Maid
Ewan McGregor	...	Jerome
Judy Ongg	...	The Mother
Ken Mitsuishi	...	The Husband
Yutaka Honda	...	Hoki
Barbara Lott	...	Jerome's Mother
Miwako Kawai	...	Young Nagiko
Lynne Langdon	...	Jerome's sister (as Lynne Frances Wachendorfer)
Chizuru Ohnishi	...	Young Nagiko
Shiho Takamatsu	...	Young Nagiko
Aki Ishimaru	...	Young Nagiko
Hisashi Hidaka	...	Calligrapher

Also Known As:

The Pillow Book (France)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

France | UK | Netherlands | Luxembourg

Language:

English | Cantonese | Italian | Japanese | Mandarin | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:18A | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Kasander & Wigman Productions

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.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: 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.

Quotes:

Nagiko: How can I get pleasure writing on you? You have to write on me.
Jerome: Go on. Use my body like the pages of a book. Of your book.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Deed Poll (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

La Marquise

Sensual, erotic & languid

At the beginning of the film we see a little girl being written upon by her father. The film then moves to the girl as an adult, and seeking lovers who will write on her body again. She meets a bisexual Englishman, who also likes to be written on, and she finds out he is also a former lover of a man who has previously betrayed her father.

Greenaway uses some of the techniques from Prospero's Books, in the way the film is shown, with small rectangular boxes containing other images. The film is beautiful to look at, as per usual with Greenaway's films. There is also a seductive French song that plays at times during the film, a sensuous lady performs this tune, and it is very appropriate to the film. The film is erotic, with plenty of nudity on view. I do think the film is a bit languid at times though, and this hurts it, but it's still an impressive piece of cinema.