The Pillow Book

1995 2h 6m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 191

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Nagito has a fetish for calligraphy on the human body and meets her ideal soulmate Jerome, an English translator sent to Japan. However, once Nagiko's father's gay publisher rejoins the scene, the story is overtaken by treachery and bloodlust.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Vivian Wu
Nagiko
Yoshi Oida
The Publisher
Ken Ogata
The Father
Hideko Yoshida
The Aunt / The Maid
Ewan McGregor
Jerome
Yutaka Honda
Hoki
Judy Ongg
The Mother
Ken Mitsuishi
The Husband

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Greenaway
Writers: Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway
Languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, French, Cantonese
Countries: France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, French, Cantonese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Greenaway, shot by Sacha Vierny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Brian Eno. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Greenaway shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vivian Wu and Yoshi Oida and Ken Ogata carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0114134 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Greenaway directs. Sacha Vierny behind the camera. Brian Eno scores. Peter Greenaway cuts. Produced in France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg. Dialogue in English, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, French, Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

131 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, French, Cantonese.
3International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg.
4Directed by Peter Greenaway, shot by Sacha Vierny. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Brian Eno. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Peter Greenaway shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Vivian Wu and Yoshi Oida and Ken Ogata carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0114134 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "adultery", "tokyo, japan", "based on memoir or autobiography", "calligraphy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sacha Vierny
Original score: Brian Eno
Editing: Peter Greenaway
Production design: Kôichi Hamamura
Costume design: Martin Margiela
Makeup / hair: Seiji Arai
Sound: Cliff Jones
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NC-17
IMDB: The Pillow Book (1995)

Awards

Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Greenaway

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-01-26
★ 7/10
Hmmm. The thing about films that showcase the male body quite this much is that after a while you start wondering why blokes with perfect physiques and faces always seem to have such an underwhelming payload down below! Anyway, the young "Nagiko" (Vivian Wu) recalls the memories from her childhood when her father used to paint some delicately elegant calligraphy on her face. These perfectly crafted characters - and some accompanying and wonderfully enigmatic stories, all emanated from the works of a lady-in-waiting at the 10th century Heian court in Japan. Subsequently, as an adult she is fascinated by this form of art, and with painting the bodies of those who share her rather lively sex life. "Jerome" (Ewan McGregor) has slovenly hand-writing that drives her mad, but soon they are enthralled with each other and he becomes one of the the more willing partners joining in with her games of sex and scribe-work. There's no doubt that some of the body work she creates would be the envy of many a modern day tattooist. Now there's got to be a twist - and soon she discovers that "Jerome" likes his oysters and his snails - and that he is having a dalliance with a publisher who made life difficult for her father. She sees an opportunity to not just get even, but to get her own book out there too. The presentation, like the book, is delivered in chapters. That's not always the easiest to follow, nor are they in anyway chronological - the narrative has a rather rambling mind of it's own sometimes and that does undermine the literary value of this leaving us with a story that does jar occasionally. Essentially, in the end it's a gorgeously photographed aesthetic that works well sometimes, not so well others. It's not a great story, but it's a creative and visionary look at the beauty of the male body - and personality - as seen through a woman with love, lust and revenge in her eyes. Bizarrely compelling to watch - it could have done without any dialogue at all and just been presented as a soundtrack-only piece of attractive cinema.

Production companies