Customer Reviews

The Pillow Book

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

After reading the previous review I had to post a review of this movie so that people will not be mislead. Although I am quite willing to admit my ignorance of Asian art, whether Chinese, Japanese or other, I think this movie can be enjoyed on its own terms. Although the Pillowbook was confusing and disjointed to me at times, it was also intriguing and beautiful. For the previous reviewer to claim that all the characters acted in a monotone is simply untrue. Vivian Wu gave a subtle, nuanced and deeply emotional performance, and Ewan McGregor was wonderful as Jerome. Far from acting in a monotone, McGregor played Jerome with an infectious sense of fun during the early stages of his and Nagiko's relationship. Later, when Nagiko rejects him, his agony is vividly expressed and quite palpable. Additionally, to reduce this subtle and intense movie to "a fetish for naked Asian men" is patently unfair. There is nudity in the film, (although primarily of Wu and McGregor, neither of whom is an Asian man), but it is very tastefully done and relevant to the plot. In conclusion I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys subtle and visually beautiful films. However, if you require lot's of special effects, explosions and action in a film, this is not the movie for you.

THE PILLOW BOOK goes where few films have dared. Peter Greenaway is a unique artist and has created a touching story in a cinematic technique that is clearly his own. Simply stated, The Pillow Book is a journal kept by Japanese women who write private thoughts about desire, beauty, sensuality, and the moments in life that are indescribably unforgetable. In this story we see the unfolding of the life of a daughter of a calligrapher/writer who is able to provide for this beloved family and all their traditions by his assignations with his publisher. The child is taught her father's skills, each birthday having her father write the story of creation on her face, signed by 'god' on her back. This 'writing on the body' is eventually the means of gaining revenge on her father's demeaning publisher: she searches for the perfect lover (one who can make love as well as write beautifully in calligraphy) only to find a British translator (who happens to be the lover of her publisher)who encourages the girl to write her uniquely original books on his body - the matrix for delivery of her book to the publisher, a man who otherwise has rejected her gifts. To reveal the ending would spoil the mesmerizing intrigue of the film. Suffice it to say that love and honor eventually triumph...

The techniques of cinematic magic include the simultneous use of Black and White photogrpahy with Color photography, screens within screens, still life within motion, the wonder of observing Japanese writing, the use of written scrolls superimposed on moments of story telling. Greenaway is one of the very few directors who is unafraid of frontal nudity. He has the beauty of Vivian Wu and Ewan McGregor which he paints sensually, allowing the camera to view the entire body being adorned both with calligraphy and with love making. But seeing is believing and for those who thirst for originality in art, for adoration of the human form, for sensitive story telling with a subject that is wholly unique, then this film is a MUST.
THE PILLOW BOOK should be in the art library of all art lovers.

This DVD is an atrocity. I saw the dreaded warning to late, "This movie, while filmed in multi-aspect ratios, has been re-formatted to fit your T.V." With most hollywood flicks this doesn't matter, but for anyone who has seen this film in the theater watching this cropped version is like seeing loved ones gunned down in cold blood. I can only hope that there will be a special edition DVD that will include the entire film.

The Pillow Book is a rare film that transcends limitations of film and text in a unique handling by auteur Peter Greenaway. Based loosely on the tenth century writings of Sei Shonagon, Greenaway brings to the screen a rich visual amalgam that relies on stunning settings, the physical beauty of actors Vivian Wu and Ewan McGregor, and the joy of ancient and modern systems of writing that is calligraphy. Greenaway's penchant for incorporating art, numbers, books, and architecture in a filmic medium ensure those who enjoy his style will not be disappointed.

As a young child, Wu's character has celebrated her birthday's by having her father write the story of creation on her face in a family ritual celebration. However, with adulthood and marriage, her spouse is neither interested nor willing to continue her tradition. Frustrated at her inability to find a lover who is a good calligrapher, or a calligrapher who is a good lover, Wu finally meets a bi-sexual translator, Jerome (McGregor) who offers himself to Wu as a living surface for her erotic creativity. Inspired by the opportunity to obtain revenge on the publisher who blackmailed her father and is Jerome's lover, Wu's character, Nagiko creates the ultimate love poem illuminated in red, gold and black characters and delivered to the publisher on the naked body of Jerome.

The Pillow Book is adult eroticism at it's most sensuous and visual best. It is a story that revels in binaries of profane and grotesque, yet delights the eye with Greenaway's ability to translate a vision of love and horror into a singular statement of lush physical beauty and sexuality. However, that said, it is also a film which is best viewed on the large screen as several elements of the film maker's medium include inset panels which include parallel scenes or present visual narratives of textual elements as they are voiced. Additional calligraphied text reveal Nagiko's narratives from her own pillow book, a journal of musings and observations which detail her voiced narrations but on the small screen become illegible. A second problemematic element is Greenaway's use of a 3/4th screen often creating the compositional balance in a negative space black band at the bottom of the screen. Some will find these kinds of articulations irritating although this kind of art as film in the hands of Greenaway is elegant and sublime on the theatrical full screen . A difficult film but worthy of all attention for lovers of unique film making.

Peter Greenaway is an extremely erudite and sophisticated (some say pretentious) artist. Unfortunately for the medium, he's nearly the only active, high-profile filmmaker whose work continues to push back the accepted boundaries of film. This film is quite different in many stylistic ways from prior Greenaway films, although it is structurally similar to all his films. Just as The Baby of Macon pairs with The Cook, The Theif, His Wife and Her Lover in their stagey motifs, Pillow Book pairs with Propero's Books not only in their obsession with writing, but with the use of innovative image composition techniques. It is these latter traits that make them two of the most important films of the last twenty years. Like all Greenaway films, they appeal only to audiences who are ready to accept a deeply idiosyncratic set of conventions as opposed to the usual Hollywood fare (drivel). (This is a roundabout way of saying that most Americans will not really enjoy this movie -- or any other Greenaway, or Fellini, or Bergman movie, or for that matter, any serious work of art -- because they "just want to be entertained".) I was lucky to see this film in the theater prior to acquiring the DVD. Those who weren't as lucky won't know what they missed. The picture on the DVD is savagely cropped. (It is NOT a pan-and-scan; it is simply cropped. Twelve to fifteen percent of the original film image is missing on each side of the video image.) The consequence of the cropping is that the elaborate compositions of overlapping digital images is wrecked, and many of the images look rather weird. On the other hand, the transfer is acceptable, and the film is watchable; because this is not mainstream cinema, we're lucky to have it on video at all! Even in its compromised form, this film is worth a hundred immaculately produced ephemeral Hollywood films. I strongly recommend planning on repeat viewings with a copy of the screenplay (all Greenaway screenplays are in-print): this work invites extended scrutiny and discussion.

Peter Greenaway's "The Pillow Book" is by far one of the best films I have ever seen. Lush photography, classy erotica, and a wonderfully off-beat story fall perfectly into place in this masterpiece of art film. Many detractors of Greenaway will argue that his films wreak of pretension, but I believe that in an MTV saturated culture like the current one in the US - anything that has an ounce of intellect will be criticized the way Greenaway has.

Familiar Greenaway themes are once again revisited in this film - lust, art and revenge. A young calligrapher-writer (Vivian Wu) seeks revenge from the publisher who had blackmailed and abused her father while she was a child. In doing so she falls in love with Jerome, a free spirited translator (Ewan McGregor). It is then through Jerome that she intends to inflict her revenge. Writing her stories on the nude bodies of male models, she sets out to complete her task.

As you can see - the trademark 'slightly' off-beat world that Greenaway is so fond of is once again portrayed in "The Pillow Book". Where else can a woman write stories on the flesh of her male subjects and send them off as her messengers? This is something I love about Greenaway cinema - he takes you from this world into a another one; one where things are just a 'bit' off.

"The Pillow Book" is a glorious breath of fresh air - but it is not for the faint of heart or the prudish. In addition to a particularly explict blood-and-guts scene in the middle of the picture, full frontal nudity (male and female) and some graphic depictions of sex are common place. Yet Greenaway is able to maintain class in the midst of footage that could easily have been exploitative. Furtheremore, "The Pillow Book" has a very deliberate pace to it - and it's quite slow, but steady. Like Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut", this film is not for those with low attention spans who aren't interested in dialogue and the imagery of film.

"The Pillow Book" is ultimately my favorite Greenaway film for one important reason: heart. Unlike Greenaway's other films that have a certain degree of coldness to them, "The Pillow Book" is a celebration of love - and the appreciation of love, and the loss of love.

My review addresses some of the negative reviews left by others who have seen this movie. The film has been denounced as pretentious, I would contend that it maintains a distanced air which is effective in setting a mood. The film is visually stunning and seems to be making several statements about love, art and the creation of both i.e., the relation of detached artist to subject or detached subject of artist is vicerally highlighted through the atmosphere of distance. Secondly, the film was pronounced "boring". In answer I say, the film is quite complicated and combines foreign and contrasting elements of European, Chinese and Japanese cultures, it is multi-faceted, multi-layered and enhanced by technologically inspired visual imagery. There is much to appreciate in the film, as there is much not to appreciate if one chooses to do so. Boring is a subjective term. A film that centers on the millennial artistic heritage of Chinese calligraphy may not titillate the masses as intensely as the comedic antics of modern day buffoons. Simply stated, the movie is not pandering to the lowest common denominator, nor is it an exercise in cultural elitism, it is a pure expression of an artist's vision -- it is beautiful.

This is a great movie and i love Greenaway.
But iam very very disappointed that the viedo transfer quality is so bad.
This release has the worst transfer in my over 2000 dvd collection.

I had heard about this movie for a long time and finally saw it. It completely blew my mind! This is by far the most visually entrancing movie I've ever seen. I love the pace, the music, the bizarre story, the colors, everything. Beautiful cast, interesting use of nudity (got the entire penis size spectrum in there I think), and there was that same quirky surrealism that I found in "The Cook, etc. etc." Not to mention I love calligraphy, so this as a special treat.
A warning, though: If you can't handle artsy stuff then don't bother. I recommended it to a very intelligent but non-artsy friend and she just didn't get it.

I've always viewed Peter Greenaway as a bit of an outlaw of sorts. There was a time where I tried to appreciate his movies but found them pretentious, boring, and even somewhat gratuitous. As I've matured I've begun to understand that the depth in most of his pictures is real and the meaning behind the visuals worthwhile, though sometimes I wished it would come with a guide. In other words, it isn't always easy to understand Greenaway's movies. Also, so very few of them are on DVD and I can't figure out exactly why. One of his most notorious movies of all time; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, is on DVD but it's a hard one to get your hands on. Probably his most notorious movie to those who have seen it and know what it is, is the hate provoking Baby of Macon, and that one we may never see distributed appropriately. My favorite films of his are Prospero's Books and Drowning by Numbers and they are not available either. That leaves me to review one of his movies that is on DVD, isn't always appreciated among Greenaway fans, but is probably his most accessible film yet. Accessible, probably because it stars the hugely talented mainstream actor Ewen McGregor.

The Pillow Book is a loose modernized telling of the memoirs of the same title written a thousand years ago by a woman who lived to serve a Japanese Empress. It follows Nagiko (Vivian Wu), a Japanese model exploring her cultural and sexual surroundings in modern Hong Kong. Jerome (Ewen McGregor), an English translator, is her favorite of multiple lovers. The two share their common interests in calligraphy, art, poetry, and mutual attraction. The betrayal they experience and the love they share is the superficial template for the first part of the film, but there are far more interesting things that develop as the film goes on. Talking about how the film progresses would reveal too many surprises but the story changes gears and focuses more on Nagiko's passion for her writing, which is really what she is most intensely devoted to at this point in the movie. Her father (Ken Ogata) influenced this passion back to when she was a child and her writings remained unpublished after being rejected by her father's rival, who, as the story treads forward seems to know how great her writing is. Greenaway's ability to understand and play with multi-cultural symbols is a key factor to the success of Nagiko as a character and his ability to mend her passions by the film's conclusion is a success in terms of the film's resolution.

Some filmmakers make confusing and cryptic movies (i.e. Jodoworsky, David Lynch) but for the most part it doesn't seem like it is as intentional as it is with Greenaway's movies. He is a very imaginative director that seems to want to challenge the viewer to understand where he is coming from, for better or worse. If you like that kind of film and the summary I've provided above sounds interesting to you then I would recommend The Pillow Book. Some would say Greenaway's movies are an acquired taste and I would agree. However, if you find yourself enjoying one of them then almost all of them are worth checking out.