The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book is a Peter Greenaway film from 1996. Set in Japan, the story tells of a young Japanese woman who tries to find a suitable lover to write on her body, and vice versa. We learn how this obsession was founded in a series of short flashbacks to her youth. Her father, a writer/calligrapher, celebrates her birthday each year by writing a few verses on her back. Once she grows up, Nagiko (Vivian Wu) seeks to carry on her father's tradition.

Nagiko ends up prostituting herself out in exchange for the opportunity to experiment with her body calligraphy. She realises the white skinned Europeans act as a much better 'paper' to write on, which leads us to a chance meeting with Jerome (Ewan McGregor), a British writer. The two begin a volatile relationship, and when the idea of money and fame appears tragedy inevitably strikes.

The Pillow Book is certainly not up there with Greenaway's best films. It is an interesting experiment, not a failure, but not an overwhelming success. Like much of his other work, Greenaway mixes art and literature, this time calligraphy the focus of his endeavours. The decoration or manipulation of the body is also present in the cooked body of 'The cook, the thief...' and the photographed decay of the brothers in 'A Z and two noughts'. Greenway has an obsession with death and decay, stemming from his interest in the baroque art movement. The two lovers and their downfall is also very Greenaway, based on the German tragedies of the 17th century.

Although the film is well composed and atmospheric, the visuals are not of the same standard of previous works. The dramatic lighting, strong colours and lavish sets are disposed of for a more toned down, contemporary setting. The film is quite a departure in this regard. The performance by Vivian Wu is strong, though I wouldn't say I ever really cared for her, but Ewan McGregor looked quite out of place, his appearance irritating me at every turn. So the romantic aspect of the film had no where near the power of the lovers in 'The cook, the thief...', which was genuinely moving (yeah, even in a Greenway film).

I'd give this a 6.5/10.