The Pillow Book (1996)

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

Writers:

Sei Shonagon (book), Peter Greenaway,

Stars:

Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata

5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

book | 10th century | writing | japan | paint | 

---

Taglines:

From the creator of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover comes a sensuous tale of passion, obsession and revenge.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Netherlands UK France Luxembourg

Language:

English Cantonese Italian Japanese Mandarin French

Release Date:

6 June 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Livro de Cabeceira

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Nagiko's mother delivers the birthday blessing, she starts in Japanese, as her father did, and then switches to Mandarin Chinese.

---

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.

---

Quotes

Nagiko: You've been reading my diary?
The Husband: Isn't that why people keep diaries? To be read by someone else? Otherwise why keep them?
Nagiko: To know about themselves.

---

Connections

Referenced in Peter Greenaway in Indianapolis (1997)

---

Soundtracks

"Suiren"
Performed by Yasuaki Shimizu
Courtesy of Nippon Columbia Berlin

User Reviews

An erotic masterpiece.

"The Pillow Book" is an erotic masterpiece. A story that unravels like a Japanese scroll. It teases and excites us with floating images. It's Greenaway's masterful technique, the same that he used so successfully in "Prospero's Books". He captures our attention and plays with our emotions. I don't understand one character in Japanese calligraphy but the idea of writing a poem or a prayer or a story on human skin is certainly an original one. Calligraphy is always charming to look at as the camera wanders about the human anatomy. Even the Lord's prayer in English takes on a very personal meaning when it scrawls across the chest and arms and ends up somewhere below the navel. The story itself is simple enough. Its about two people -a Japanese girl and a Westerner - falling in love. There's nothing new in that. But it's the progression of their romance through their calligraphic foreplay that binds our attention. It's beautifully and delicately portrayed - somewhat dream-like in its presentation. There's a suicide scene which one might expect would draw this romantic drama to a close, but no! the story gathers pace and races on to unexpected heights. Based on observations made by Sei Shonagon in the 10th century, the Pillow Book is a collection of 13 essays entitled "Book of Youth", "Book of the Seducer". "Book of Secrets", "Book of the Dead" etc. But essentially this is about "The Book of the Lover". Some audience will cringe with horror when they see how this book is prepared. Ewan McGregor and Vivian Wu are to be congratulated on their exceptional performances( and backed by a competent cast} in a most original and memorable production.