The Pillow Book (film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Peter Greenaway |
| Produced by | Kees Kasander |
| Written by | Peter Greenaway |
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| Music by | Brian Eno |
| Cinematography | Sacha Vierny |
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| Distributed by | Lions Gate Films |
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126 minutes |
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| Box office | $2.4 million |
The Pillow Book is a 1996 drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, which stars Vivian Wu as Nagiko, a Japanese model in search of pleasure and new cultural experience from various lovers. The film is a rich and artistic melding of dark modern drama with idealised Chinese and Japanese cultural themes and settings, and centres on body painting. The film features full-frontal male nudity. It is also the first film distributed by Lionsgate Films.
The film's title, "The Pillow Book", refers to an ancient Japanese diary written by Sei Shōnagon, actual name believed to be Kiyohara Nagiko, from whence the protagonist's name in the film.
The film is narrated by Nagiko, a Japanese born model living in Hong Kong. Nagiko seeks a lover who can match her desire for carnal pleasure with her admiration for poetry and calligraphy. The roots of this obsession lie in her youth in Kyoto, when her father would write characters of good fortune on her face. Nagiko's father celebrates her birthday retelling the Japanese creation myth and writing on her flesh in beautiful calligraphy, while her aunt reads a list of "beautiful things" from Sei Shōnagon's Pillow Book. Nagiko's aunt tells her that when she is twenty-eight years old, the official book of observations will be officially 1000 years old, and that she, Nagiko, will be the same age as Sei Shōnagon when she had written the book (in addition to sharing her first name). Nagiko also learns around this time that her father is in thrall to his publisher, "Yaji-san", who demands sexual favours from her father in exchange for publishing his work.
The publisher arranges Nagiko's wedding to his young apprentice. Her husband, an expert archer, resents Nagiko's love for books and her desire to read, in spite of his apprenticeship. He also refuses to indulge in her desires for pleasure, refusing to write on her body. When he discovers and reads Nagiko's pillow book, he is extremely resentful, setting it on fire and thus setting fire to their marital home, an event which Nagiko describes to be the 'first major fire of [her] life.' Insulted and enraged, Nagiko leaves him for good.
Hiding from her husband, Nagiko moves to Hong Kong. In spite of her aversion to the practice, she learns how to type to find work. Outside her apartment, a group of activists regularly protest the publishing industry for the depletion of forests due to the need to make paper.
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Wikipedia