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The Pillow Book (1996)

Not Rated  |   |  Drama  |  6 June 1997 (USA)
6.7
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Ratings: 6.7/10 from 10,241 users   Metascore: 64/100
Reviews: 92 user | 52 critic | 20 from Metacritic.com

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, ... See full summary »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Yoshi Oida ...
The Publisher
Ken Ogata ...
The Father
Hideko Yoshida ...
The Aunt / The Maid
...
Jerome
Judy Ongg ...
The Mother
Ken Mitsuishi ...
The Husband
Yutaka Honda ...
Hoki
Barbara Lott ...
Jerome's Mother
Miwako Kawai ...
Young Nagiko
...
Jerome's sister (as Lynne Frances Wachendorfer)
Chizuru Ohnishi ...
Young Nagiko
Shiho Takamatsu ...
Young Nagiko
Aki Ishimaru ...
Young Nagiko
Hisashi Hidaka ...
Calligrapher
Edit

Storyline

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. Written by Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

book | paper | paint | chinese | japan | See All (256) »

Taglines:

From the creator of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover comes a sensuous tale of passion, obsession and revenge. See more »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

| | |

Release Date:

6 June 1997 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

O Livro de Cabeceira  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$105,922 (USA) (6 June 1997)

Gross:

$2,293,037 (USA) (15 August 1997)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Nagiko's mother delivers the birthday blessing, she starts in Japanese, as her father did, and then switches to Mandarin Chinese. See more »

Goofs

Nagiko says early on that her mother taught her Mandarin. Later, she says that she went to Hong Kong to improve the Chinese her mother taught her. However, the majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. See more »

Quotes

Nagiko: The smell of white paper is like the scent of skin of a new lover who has just paid a surprise visit out of a rainy garden. And the black ink is like lacquered hair. And the quill? Well, the quill is like that instrument of pleasure whose purpose is never in doubt but whose surprising efficiency one always, always forgets.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

Rose, Rose I Love You
Performed by Yao Lee
Courtesy of EMI SE Asia Ltd
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Sensual, erotic & languid
25 July 2000 | by (England) – See all my reviews

At the beginning of the film we see a little girl being written upon by her father. The film then moves to the girl as an adult, and seeking lovers who will write on her body again. She meets a bisexual Englishman, who also likes to be written on, and she finds out he is also a former lover of a man who has previously betrayed her father.

Greenaway uses some of the techniques from Prospero's Books, in the way the film is shown, with small rectangular boxes containing other images. The film is beautiful to look at, as per usual with Greenaway's films. There is also a seductive French song that plays at times during the film, a sensuous lady performs this tune, and it is very appropriate to the film. The film is erotic, with plenty of nudity on view. I do think the film is a bit languid at times though, and this hurts it, but it's still an impressive piece of cinema.


13 of 19 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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