The Pillow Book
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Movie Reviews of The Pillow Book
Movie Review: Absolutely stunning - a feast for the eyes and mind.
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: A breathtakingly magnificent visual experience!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Another fine Greenaway film
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm sort of a fan of Greenaway's although I didn't know it, since I found out that I'd liked two of his other films but had never paid attention to who the filmaker was. This one was recommended to me so I tried it.Although I didn't like this quite as much as the ones I'd seen previously, which were "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover," and "The Draughtsman's Contract," I still enjoyed it, as I can still appreciate the surprisingly varied creativity and artistry Greenaway brings to the silver screen. I suspect the eclectic symbolism in the movie, as Greenaway combines art, architecture, photography, and even mathematics along with the calligraphy aspect, will probably elude most people. But the movie itself cleverly becomes a sort of a "Pillowbook" as the woman character flits from lover to lover trying to find one who is as good a calligrapher as he is a lover, and can cover her body with beautiful calligraphy to keep her father's tradition alive.
As usual with Greenaway films, there is a dark side to this, as in the relationship between her father and his publisher, who is blackmailing her father (although "black-balling" might be a more appropriate term) but the main focus is on the Vivian Wu character, who finally encounters Ewan McGregor (who I recalled as the young Obiwan Kenobe from the Star Wars sequel). McGregor becomes the means to her revenge when she creates a beautiful love poem on McGregor's body for the unscrupulous publisher. Overall, another sensual, erotic, and thoughtful film from Greenaway that should delight his fans once more.
Movie Review: My *FAVORITE* movie of all time...
Summary: 5 Stars
I just read through some of the reviews that this film has been given, and I do believe that I've lost faith that the general public can enjoy well-made film. Why are we looking for someone to "root" for? What's wrong with seeing naked people? Why do we only want to see Ewan as a character in Star Wars? Geez. People should have to pass IQ tests before being able to be subjected to anything from Greenaway. He is so much more brilliant than we can imagine. Not only is this movie visually stimulating, but Greenaway encaptures the agonizing waiting aspect of a culture in the way in which the storyline is carried out. EVERY character is perfectly cast. I was so turned on by this movie in every way(don't read into this too much). Perhaps the issues are a bit exaggerated, but so is every other romantic movie. The themes he tackles are universal. Not only do we encounter romance and the tragedies that often come with it, but the restraints of our cultures, the things(not only physical) which we inherit from our families, the birth of and cultivation of seemingly odd quirks(we all have them), and the sense of satisfaction when we get over something and move on in our lives. PLEASE, if you did not enjoy this movie, DON'T WATCH ANY MORE GREENAWAY. You obviously aren't going to understand his depth. Go back to your single plot line, dumbed-down movies.Movie Review: Written on the Body
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Pillow Book" is an exotic, tantalizing thriller of a film. Vivian Wu stars as a Japanese woman accustomed to being written upon by her father. To her shock, she learns that her father's publisher is exploiting him. She desires revenge. She finds a British lover (the ever-handsome Ewan McGregor, showing that again, the Force is strong in him) They become passionate lovers. While their love scenes are passionate and sensual, the music accompanying it is... surprisingly awful. She enjoys her British paramour, but thinks his calligraphy stinks. Instead, she writes on him, and sends him to the publisher. I won't spoil the horrific ending.
"The Pillow Book" is one of Peter Greenaway's more accessible movies. It doesn't have the brutality of The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover,nor is it as esoteric as The Draughtsman's Contract Greenaway is in the tradition of other British avant-garde filmmakers like Ken Russell and Derek Jarman. "Pillow Book" also shows that back in the '90s, art films weren't the glum, realistic things they are now. They were free to be surreal and dreamlike. "Pillow Book" is worth opening!