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The Pillow Book (1996)
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Overview
Tagline:
Things that make the heart beat faster. morePlot:
As a young girl in Japan, Nagiko's father paints characters on her face, and her aunt reads to her from "The Pillow Book"... more | add synopsisAwards:
5 wins & 1 nomination moreNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Ewan's "Dirty" Sex Scenes Are More Realistic (From WENN. 18 September 2003)
Ewan McGregor Happy To Carry On Stripping (From WENN. 20 March 2002)
User Comments:
Cinematic Art moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Vivian Wu | ... | Nagiko | |
| Yoshi Oida | ... | The Publisher | |
| Ken Ogata | ... | The Father | |
| Hideko Yoshida | ... | The Aunt / The Maid | |
| Ewan McGregor | ... | Jerome | |
| Judy Ongg | ... | The Mother | |
| Ken Mitsuishi | ... | The Husband | |
| Yutaka Honda | ... | Hoki | |
| Barbara Lott | ... | Jerome's Mother | |
| Miwako Kawai | ... | Young Nagiko | |
| Lynne Langdon | ... | Jerome's sister (as Lynne Frances Wachendorfer) | |
| Chizuru Ohnishi | ... | Young Nagiko | |
| Shiho Takamatsu | ... | Young Nagiko | |
| Aki Ishimaru | ... | Young Nagiko | |
| Hisashi Hidaka | ... | Calligrapher |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
126 minAspect Ratio:
1.75 : 1 moreSound Mix:
DolbyCertification:
USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Canada:18A | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | France:-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:Not RatedMOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
When Nagiko's mother delivers the birthday blessing, she starts in Japanese, as her father did, and then switches to Mandarin Chinese. moreGoofs:
Mike visible during wide shot when Nagiko kneels and Jerome signs his name on her back. 01:03:59 into the film on PAL DVDs. moreQuotes:
Nagiko: When God made the first clay model of a human being, He painted in the eyes... the lips... and the sex. And then He painted in each person's name lest the person should ever forget it. If God approved of His creation, He brought the painted clay model into life by signing His own name. moreSoundtrack:
Nasori moreFAQ
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Anything by Greenaway is bound to be cinematic Art, but this effort is particularly brilliant.
It has full-frontal nudity, male and female -- not presented necessarily in sexual context, but you might want to pick your audience carefully. The nudity and homosexuality in the film are handled offhandedly and without prejudice, thus removing any hint of perversion or pornography. I know that sounds odd, but believe me, I'm a very conservative individual/artist.
But that's not The Film -- the plot is intriguing, the Art is breathtaking, and the calligraphy, ahhhhhhh, is astoundingly beautiful, especially when transcribed on human form. The vessel and the content are one -- how sublime of author and director.
My criticism? Sometimes Greenaway seems to think that we can simultaneously process all five lanes of the highway that run in his head. I, for one, am willing to watch his films twice. (Well, maybe not "The Falls").
Greenaway offers food for my soul -- I kiss both his eyes.