The Pillow Book (1996)
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67% of critics liked it
(36 reviews) -
77% of users liked it
(12,823 ratings)
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) who would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida)… More 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) who 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- Peter Greenaway
- Written By
- Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Special Interest, Cult Movies
- In Theaters
- Jun 6, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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David Stratton, Variety
At first daunting but ultimately awesomely impressive and beautiful.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
A very intimate, sensual film, and a torrid, lurid melodrama, full of passion, jealousy, hatred and revenge.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
A seductive and elegant story that combines a millennium of Japanese art and fetishes with the story of a neurotic modern woman who tells a lover: "Treat me like the pages of a book."
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Greenaway, whose mind is one of the most impressive, complicated organs that ever sat on the shoulders of a filmmaker, seems to be playing connect the dots to himself, almost dumbing himself down to be commercial.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Despite its arresting visual style, its wave after wave of creative and hypnotic images, "The Pillow Book," as its name hints, slowly but inexorably leads to sleep.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Vivian Wu
as Nagiko
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Ewan McGregor
as Jerome
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Yoshi Oida
as The Publisher
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Ken Ogata
as The Father
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Hideko Yoshida
as The Aunt/The Maid
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Judy Ongg
as The Mother
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Chrissy Ann
as Model
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Ronald Guttman
as Publisher
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Ham-Chau Luong
as Calligrapher
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Miwako Kawai
as Young Nagiko
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Akihiro Nishida
as Calligrapher
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Barbara Lott
as Jerome's Mother
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Jim-Adhi Limas
as Man in Lift
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Ken Mitsuishi
as The Husband
- Farini Chang
- Adrian Kwan
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Tom Kane
as The Book of the Exhibitionist
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Ville Khaapassalo
as Intruder
- Andrew Chan
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Chau Lam
as Intruder
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Chris Bearne
as Calligrapher
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Arnita Swanson
as Edele
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Hikari Abe
as Nagiko's Baby
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Mariko Ajimoto
as 10th Century Woman
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Augusto Aristotle
as Calligrapher
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Ryuko Azuma
as Grandmother
- Valerie Buchanon
- Cham Ben
- Chau Kwok Kwong
- Edelme Christanse
- Anna Chu
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Tania De Jaeger
as Model Friend in Café Typo, Model Friend...
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Fabienne De Marco
as Model Friend in Café Typo, Model Friend...
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Dehong Chen
as Calligrapher
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Wichert Dromkert
as The Book of the Innocent
- Louis Yiu Shi Fu
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Kana Haraguchi
as 10th Century Woman
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Midori Hatsuda
as Model
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Miwa Hayashi
as Model
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Yuki Hayashi
as Young Female Secretary
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Hidashi Hidaka
as Calligrapher
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Yutaka Honda
as Hoki
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Daishi Hori
as The Book of Youth
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Tokiko Horiike
as 10th Century Woman
- Hui Pai Kin
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Seizo H. Inoue
as 10th Century Man
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Yuri Inoue
as 10th Century Woman
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Aki Ishimaru
as Young Nagiko
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Kazushi Ishimaru
as Baby Nagiko
- Jo Jo Hui Yuet Chun
- Bobsy Jureidini
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Ai Kanafuji
as Nagiko's Friend
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Yoshihiro Kawai
as 10th Century Man
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Kheim Lam
as The Book of the Seducer
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Satomi Kimura
as Nagiko's Friend
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Tatsuya Kimura
as Nephew
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Toshio Kimura
as 10th Century Man
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Fukue Kitaoka
as 10th Century Woman
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Kumi Komino
as Elderly Secretary
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Seitaro Koyama
as Nephew
- Stephen C. Lam
- Vanessa Lanza
- Jimmy Wai Chung Lee
- Anita Pui Shan Leung
- Sammuel Leung
- Li Chun Man
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Lu Jinhua
as Wife of Calligrapher
- Doris Lai Fong Lui
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Masaru Matsuda
as The Book of Birth & Beginnings
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Kentaro Matsuo
as Calligrapher
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Michiko Matsuo
as Nagiko's Friend
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Atsushi Miura
as Husband's Friend
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Takashi Miyake
as 10th Century Man
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Mr. Lo
as Old Servant
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Mrs. Lo
as Wife
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Kintaro Murayama
as Nagiko's Friend
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Wataru Murofushi
as The Book of the Dead
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Yoshihiko Nagata
as Husband's Friend
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Hiroshi Nakajima
as 10th Century Man
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Atsuko Nakamura
as 10th Century Woman
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Miwako Namie
as 10th Century Woman
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Nguyen Duc Nhan
as Calligrapher
- Michell Leigh Nicholson
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Masami Nishio
as Nagiko's Friend
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Kiymi Nomura
as Model
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Yuki Nou
as Nagiko's Friend
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Yuko Nozawa
as Model
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Yasuko Ogawa
as 10th Century Woman
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Ohko
as Model
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Chizuru Ohnishi
as Young Nagiko
- Poon Wing Hong
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Roger To Thanh Hien
as Calligrapher
- Sam
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See Wah Leung
as Intruder
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See Yan Leung
as Bookshop Manager
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Yuko Shimomura
as 10th Century Woman
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Junko Shinohara
as Model
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Kageyoshi Shirakata
as 10th Century Man
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Makiko Shoji
as 10th Century Woman
- Shuen Ngar Lei
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Shiho Takamatsu
as Young Nagiko
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Masakazu Takemura
as 10th Century Man
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Munenari Takeshima
as 10th Century Man
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Maskai Taketani
as Young Male Secretary
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Eiichi Tanaka
as The Book of the Betrayer
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Miho Tanaka
as Model Friend in Café Typo, Model Friend...
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Hiromi Tani
as 10th Century Woman
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Tien Sing Wang
as Intruder
- Yorks Tong
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Kinya Tsuruyama
as The Book of Secrets
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Martin Tukker
as The Book of the Idiot
- Terence Tsin Chung Tung
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Kaoru Ueda
as Model
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Hiroko Uno
as 10th Century Woman
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François Van Den Bergen
as Book of Seducer
- Lynne Frances Wachendorfer
- Paul Wan
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Rick Waney
as The Book of Silence
- C.S. Wong
- Tony Man Kit Wong
- Woo Leung
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Wu Wei
as The Book of Old Age
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Akiko Yokotani
as 10th Century Woman
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Atsuko Yoshikawa
as 10th Century Woman
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Yoshino Yoshioka
as Nagiko's Friend
