8 ½ Women (1999)

Following the death of a mother, a father and son open up a brothel in their Genevan estate after watching 8½ (1963).

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway

Stars:

John Standing, Matthew Delamere, Vivian Wu

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Standing	...	Philip Emmenthal
Matthew Delamere	...	Storey Emmenthal
Vivian Wu	...	Kito
Annie Shizuka Inoh	...	Simato (as Shizuka Inoh)
Barbara Sarafian	...	Clothilde
Kirina Mano	...	Mio
Toni Collette	...	Griselda / Sister Concordia
Amanda Plummer	...	Beryl
Natacha Amal	...	Giaconda the Baby Factory
Manna Fujiwara	...	Giulietta / Half Woman
Polly Walker	...	Palmira
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Celeste, Emmenthal Maid
Myriam Muller	...	Marianne, Emmenthal Maid
Don Warrington	...	Simon
Claire Johnston	...	Amelia, Philip's Wife

Storyline

After his wife dies, fifty-five-year-old businessman Philip Emmenthal (Sir John Standing), at the prompting of his playboy son Storey (Matthew Delamere), populates his Geneva villa with eight and a half concubines. Three are from Kyoto, Japan, where Storey manages Pachinco palaces. Each has a distinctive personality: a nun, a child bearer, a gambler, a student of Kabuki, a horsewoman with a pet pig, and a maid. Philip throws off his strait-laced and repressed attitudes, immersing himself in pleasure. After about a year, the women begin to assert their own power. Side adventures pre-figure the household's break-up, and the women depart in one way or another, one at at time. Philip's fate is in the hands of Palmira (Polly Walker), his favorite.

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Plot Keywords:

pubic hair | brothel | breasts | female full frontal nudity | lust | 

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Taglines:

When sexual desire becomes an obsession, it's every man for himself.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue and pervasive nudity

Details

Country:

UK Netherlands Luxembourg Germany

Language:

English Italian Japanese Latin

Release Date:

10 December 1999 (UK)

Also Known As:

8 ½ Women

Filming Locations:

Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$92,000, 29 May 2000

Gross USA:

$424,123

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$437,568

Company Credits

Production Co:

Woodline Productions, Movie Masters, Delux Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

[All trivia items for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Storey Emmenthal: I'm thinking of making a film... about all this: our experiences.
Philip Emmenthal: Why make a film when you can live it? Most films are about people longing for something that they haven't got, and what they haven't got is sex and happiness... and we've got both. Or at least... I have.

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Connections

Features 8½ (1963)

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Soundtracks

On a Slow Boat to China
Written by Frank Loesser
Performed by John Standing, Matthew Delamere

User Reviews

A clever film, with understandable characters in a very surreal situation

Frederico Fellini's "8 1/2" is a movie this one is theoretically inspired by. There are consistent references to it in this film, some subtle, and some glaringly obvious. One should take this into account so that it will not hamper one's voluntary suspension of disbelief, though this movie definitely stands on its own if the viewer has never seen "8 1/2".

Voluntary is, perhaps, an inappropriate word. This movie takes disbelief, which should certainly be present, and suspends it for you, in a most amusing way. The film may well attempt to say something deep about human nature, and the interaction between a fickle heart which has lots of love to give and a bored brain with so many thoughts - but it doesn't say it so loud that you can't just sit back and enjoy the picture. Some scenes are funny to all; some scenes may cause you to be the only hysterical person in the theater. In any case, it's well worth the ticket or rental cost. Some male nudity is present, though no more than the average British movie containing male nudity. No sex scenes are overly graphic, though one should definitely have an open mind going into the movie in order to enjoy it. If you didn't feel a significant need to leave the theater during "Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes," which I was last week, you should be able to thoroughly enjoy this film.

(Lighting designers watch for the Kabuki scene; it won awards in Europe and definitely looks very cool.)