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

Much of the film is in Japanese, and some of the English subtitles appear to be intentionally incorrect or missing, in the spirit of "language play" or "the Tower of Babel". (Confirmed by director Peter Greenaway at a talk at the San Francisco Film Festival.)

---

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: 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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Deed Poll (2004)

---

Soundtracks

"Ranryo Ou"
Court music of Japan
Performed by Tokyo Gasuko
Courtesy of Victor Entertainment

User Reviews

Indescribable

God, what words to use when trying to describe this film!!! Exotic, erotic??? Those are obvious choices that pop right up. Quite a bit of this film is spoken in Japanese, and I usually hate films with subtitles, yet I loved THE PILLOW BOOK. It is sensual, delicate and beautifully executed. The music is mysterious and sexy. The way it is filmed is pure art, like the unfolding of the pages of the book it's about. Nagiko (Vivian Wu) is trying to publish a book written in caligraphy but is rejected. Looking for someone with perfect skin, she decides to use the method of writing her caligraphy onto human skin the way her father did when she was a girl. There is plenty of naked Ewan McGregor to behold, and he gives a fine...ahem...acting performance also!!! Of course this film won't appeal to just anyone, but if you're in the mood for a visually striking, colorful, cultural piece of art film, try this one out.