:
Vivian Wu,
Vivian Wu,
Ewan McGregor,
more...
:
Peter Greenaway,
Peter Greenaway
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Columbia TriStar
: Cult, Drama, Foreign, Netherlands, British Drama, Experimental/Avant-Garde, UK, Quest, Revenge, Erotica
: 126 min.
: Japanese
: English
see additional details...
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Peter Greenaway directed this elliptical and visually intricate tale of the far side of erotic and intellectual attraction. As a girl, Nagiko would receive a special gift each year from her father, a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) -- he would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) read aloud from The Pillow Book, a classic Japanese text on the art of love. As Nagiko (Vivian Wu) reached adulthood, her father insisted on putting a stop to this ritual, and he persuaded her to marry the nephew of his publisher (Ken Mitsuishi). But Nagiko is not satisfied with her husband, and after finding success as a model, she seeks a lover who will indulge her fondness for literature by writing verse on her naked body. In time, she finds happiness with a British expatriate named Jerome (Ewan McGregor), who persuades her to use his body as paper for her poetry, but the interference of her father's publisher (Yoshi Oida) gives their relationship a tragic turn. Greenaway deliberately mistranslated some of the French and Japanese dialogue for The Pillow Book, hoping that the occasionally fractured language would give the film a "Tower of Babel" quality. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
In the Realm of Passion
Also a haunting and sensual story, with Japanese sensibility
Draughtsman's Contract
Earlier Greenaway period film combining painting and sexuality, here framed within a mystery
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Another sensual period piece about an Indian princess torn between two lovers
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| Pan and scan? Not quite...
by lndgnwtr
November 18, 2003 - 3:51 PM PST
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8 out of 10 members found this review helpful
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| According to the IMDB, it was shot in Super 35mm at 1.75:1. (Look it up.) In other words, you're seeing it the way Greenaway wanted it framed for video. |
| What were they thinking??
by oldkingcole
November 1, 2002 - 9:23 AM PST
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16 out of 20 members found this review helpful
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Imagine my surprise when I popped this DVD into the player and discovered that it was a pan-and-scan only presentation! Of a Greenaway film, no less! What "genius" thought that Greenaway's audience would want to see his painterly framings hacked to bits in a presentation like this?
I had to return the disc unwatched. Don't let your first experience of a Greenaway film be a pan-and-scan hack-job: avoid this disc! And shame on you to whoever authorized releasing this DVD in a pan-and-scan only presentation. Bad choice! Bad! |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.61)
229 Votes
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