The Pillow Book
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Movie Reviews of The Pillow Book
Movie Review: exquisite
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw this film, I didn't know what to think. It was, for lack of a better word, disturbing. The story seemed disjointed and aimless; the excessive nudity seemed to have no place. But even then, the beauty of the images haunted me. Greenaway films with a delicate touch and lush colors that bring heartbreakingly beautiful shots to the screen. They move languidly and gracefully even in the faster shots, as if they exist outside of time. And they do. This film is not about plot points or action-drenched climaxes, or even really about its array of strange characters; it's an aesthetic creation and more of an experience than a movie. It exists within its own frame and outside of it. The story itself is not moving or poignant or one of many things you might expect to be; it's hardly a story at all. It's an appreciation and a study. The stark shattering of realism in art and the play of ink on human flesh are details to be absorbed.
It might not enchant you or endear you on first viewing, but this is an experience that grasps your attention and never lets go, even after you've turned the TV off.
Movie Review: Wonderful film, Worst DVD transfer I have ever seen
Summary: 5 Stars
It's very hard to review this because I don't know whether to rate the film as 5 stars or the DVD transfer as 0 stars. Since I decided to rate the movie 5 stars, I will devote my review to the transfer. Shame on Columbia/Tri-Star! They essentially butchered this movie. Not only is it full screen, but all of the film's images lie beneath a strange impermeable haze. Half the sublitles are illegible, and the sound (yes it was released in Dolby Digital) is horrendous. These comobined elements end up hurting the film when it is watched on DVD. I saw this movie in the theater, and it was beautiful-- color, cinematography, sound. All of these outstanding images contributed to the effect of the film. On DVD it is all lost. What a shame we cannot see the film the way it is meant to be seen. Anyway, Greenaway did a great job with this movie... just too bad he turned the rights over to Columbia/Tri Star.Movie Review: A difficult movie but worth it
Summary: 5 Stars
In the lines of The Cook, The Thief, etc. this movie is startlingly raw in its exploration of what lovers will do for and to one another. Also it takes a deep look at teh concept of writing, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the ways it can be expressed and what it truly means to control the power of teh word.There's a whoel subplot about terrorists here that has little to do with the magic of a love affair that is doomed and the sublime art of using one's dead lover as papyrus as one uses their skin to be written upon. To literally become a story, thats amazing.
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: Repulsive
Summary: 1 Stars
This movie is one of the worst I have seen. The main character is telling a story of love, but she is actually shallow and ordinary except for her strange calligraphy obsession. The beauty of Asian culture is twisted and portrayed strangely. The only saving grace of the film was Ewan McGregor, but an act that is disgusting and repulsive is done to his character and may disturb many viewers. On the whole, the film attempted to make up for its lack of a plot or good acting with a lot of nudity and different filming techniques -- and is unsuccessful.