Pillow Book (The)
- Director: Peter Greenaway
- Writer: Sei Shonagon; Peter Greenaway
- Producer: Terry Glinwood; Kees Kasander
CGiii Comment
Some would say that a Greenaway film is beyond and/or above criticism. Some say that...such nonsense.
Undisputedly, it is art and art is wholly subjective - no matter what the critics say. Greenaway lets you decide for yourself.
Like most of his movies (and this is no exception): Lovely to have on, in the background - as a decoration rather than a dull, blank screen.
And, like art hanging on a wall, some will succumb and other will reject.
It's choice - that's all. Whether you want to spend money making that choice is up to you.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
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.
Cast & Characters
Vivian Wu as Nagiko;
Yoshi Oida as The Publisher;
Ken Ogata as The Father;
Hideko Yoshida as The Aunt / The Maid;
Ewan McGregor as Jerome;
Judy Ongg as The Mother;
Ken Mitsuishi as The Husband;
Yutaka Honda as Hoki;
Barbara Lott as Jerome's Mother;
Miwako Kawai as Young Nagiko;
Lynne Langdon as Jerome's sister;
Chizuru Ohnishi as Young Nagiko;
Shiho Takamatsu as Young Nagiko;
Aki Ishimaru as Young Nagiko;
Hisashi Hidaka as Calligrapher