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The Pillow Book

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The Pillow Book

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Summary

A Japanese woman with a fetish for writing on the human body is left in despair when she is forced into a loveless and unfulfilling marriage. An encounter with an English translator sent to her homeland brings sensuality back into her life in stunning fashion. Peter Greenaway's drama, starring Ewan McGregor, Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida and Ken Ogata

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Tom Hutchinson

Extraordinary. Ravishing. Preposterous. The usual descriptions of director Peter Greenaway's work can all be applied here in spades. Even more overwrought and over-decorated than his previous films, this mainly Hong Kong-set tale of sex and power centres on the fetish of a Japanese woman (Vivian Wu) who enjoys having her flesh written upon. Ewan McGregor co-stars as one of Wu's lovers who gets mixed up in her plan to take revenge on the homosexual publisher who degraded her father. The split-screen motifs are a wonder to behold but, although it deals with white-hot emotions, the film is as ice-cold as winter. The Pillow Book is certainly no bedtime story.

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6.5/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameNagikoVivian WuJeromeEwan McGregorPublisherYoshi OidaFatherKen OgataAunt / MaidHideko YoshidaMotherJudy OnggHusbandKen Mitsuishi

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Crew

rolenameDirectorPeter Greenaway

Details

Released on

1996-11-08

Languages

English | Japanese | Italian | French

Guidance

Contains violence, drug abuse, sex scenes and nudity.

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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