Best movie ever!

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I had heard about this Japanese, Chinese and English film a few times, even before I found out it was once listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, so I definitely had to watch it, directed by Peter Greenaway (The Draughtsman's Contract, Drowning by Numbers; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover). Basically Nagiko (Vivian Wu) is a beautiful Japanese born fashion model, she formerly lived in Kyoto, her father (Ken Ogata) was a professional calligrapher and struggling writer, as a young woman he painted characters on her face on her birthdays, and her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) often read to her from "The Pillow Book", the diary of a 10th century lady-in-waiting. Nagiko now lives in Hong Kong, she is obsessed with books, papers and writing, her father stopped painting on her when she turned 18, this birthday ritual was indescribably tender and erotic, Nagiko's sexual desire is to have writing painted on her naked body, so she begins making love to calligraphers willing to write on her naked body. Nagiko moves from one to the other searching for the one who will finally satisfy her, but she has no luck, until she meets Jerome (Ewan McGregor), a British translator, who introduces her to the idea of not only writing on her own body, but using his body to write her stories upon his body. When Nagiko finishes, she takes the naked Jerome to her father's publisher (Yoshi Oida), who is aroused by the Englishman, they eventually become lovers. Nagiko meanwhile starts creating her own Pillow Book, Book 1: The Book of The Agenda is started on Jerome, Book 2: The Book of The Innocent and Book 3: The Book of the Idiot is written on two Swedish students, Book 4: The Book of Impotence/Old Age goes on the body of an old man, and Book 5: The Book of the Exhibitionist is delivered by a boorish, fat, hyperactive American (Tom Kane). However Nagiko is devastated when she finds out about Jerome and the publisher, ensuing jealousy turns into tragedy, Jerome is so distraught thinking he has lost Nagiko, and he kills himself. Nagiko is devastated by Jerome's, and has become pregnant with his child, she realises how much she truly loved him, but continues her writing, completing Book 6: The Book of the Lovers on Jerome's dead body. Book 7: The Book of The Seducer is written on a male messenger, Book 8: The Book of Youth is delivered as a series of photographs, a young Buddhist monk bears Book 9: The Book of Secrets, another messenger has Book 10: The Book of Silence written on his tongue, a young wrestler has Book 11: The Book of The Betrayed on his body, another messenger quickly passes with Book 12: The Book of False Starts, and finally Book 13: The Book of the Dead is on the body of a Sumo wrestler. In the end Nagiko is able to let life go on and reminisce her time with Jerome, she has given birth to his child, she is seen writing on her child's face, and quoting from her own Pillow Book, her parfait mélange (perfect blend). Also starring Judy Ongg as The Mother, Ken Mitsuishi as The Husband, Yutaka Honda as Hoki, Barbara Lott as Jerome's Mother and Lynne Langdon Lynne as Jerome's Sister. Wu gives a wonderful performance as the Japanese beauty with a fetish for writing on flesh, and McGregor as one of her many lovers is most memorable, especially as he is not shy getting all his clothes off. What makes the film really interesting is not just the unusual sexual conquest and all the male and female nudity, but the split-screen motifs throughout, it really makes you imagine your flicking through the pages of a book, Greenaway is renowned for making weird films, this stands out as one of the most brilliantly inventive, a great drama. Very good!

I'm in the middle of revisiting the films that laid the foundation for my love for cinema. That includes lots of Kurosawa, basically, and Greenaway. My interest in the latter has waned dramatically in the last six or seven years, so it's a bit like time travel then, to see an old friend with whom you haven't been in contact in years but who was always close to you and you got along with splendidly.I'm starting this personal revival with the film that I have always loved best, the extravagance that is "The Pillow Book". In some ways it's also appropriate as a starting point since it's the last Greenaway film that I've thoroughly enjoyed.Indeed, what the later Greenaeay films have in abundance in visual mastery they lack in the wonderful humour that seeps through his work in the 70s and 80s. That certain playfulness is still here. This wonderful sense of humour Greenaway has he's able to show visually, and that might just be his greatest strength. And he's a list maker, of course. What better match then than to film one of the most beautiful personally poetic lists there is, Sei Shōnagon's "Pillow Book"? The result is mindbogglingly sumptuous, and after 17 years since its release we are still to discover all its riches.What makes this a watershed of sorts is also Sacha Vierny. He did do " 8 1/2 Women" (1999) with Greenaway, but this film is the last exploration of the visual nesting of images through complex editing, and the apex of that art. Greenaway would return to it in "The Tulse Luper Suitcases" (2003-4), but it achieves its full force here.Did I already say Ewan McGregor is amazing? In some ways this is the perfect film to see with "Moulin Rouge!" (2001), where McGregor's character is similarly drunk on a culture foreign to him, embodied in a woman he desires.

After the completion of Prospero's Books in 1991, Greenaway was quoted in an article on IMDb as saying: "I'm pretty certain Michael and I will never ever work together again." After making a few films with various composers after his breakup with Nyman, Greenaway made a major attempt at creating a sound track from existing music, and the outstanding results are the music of The Pillow Book. Chosen with great care, the music is a document to his outstanding sense of taste, and reflects a very high level of musical awareness. In each scene, the music supports the drama to the fullest: observe the corny pop song that recalls Nagiko's parents early years; or the silly socialist workers song, lacking in all things sophisticated; or the extremely beautiful French love song that is heard when the lovers are together; or the violent avant-garde string quartet music used first for the fire scene, and later when Jerome commits suicide. Greenway's choice of soundtrack here is every bit as outstanding as that of Stanly Kubrick, which reflects the finest taste of any 20th-century director. (Greenway's choice of music here is as keen as Kubrick's choice of music in Eyes Wide Shut, etc.). As such, The Pillow Book does not have the tight neo-classic aura that we find in Greenaways films with music by Nyman. It is actually quite different, and we miss the unique relationship the two presented in so many masterworks. Never-the-less, what Greenaway has come up with here is excellent in its own way, and although it has taken the director in a new direction, it is still of a very high quality.

This movie was awful, as well as disturbing. A Japenese woman is obsessed with being written on, like her father did. Her search for a proper lover to write on her as she wishes leads to Jerome (Ewan MacGregor), but not before a good half hour into the movie. They are in love, they paint each other, have lots of graphic sex, etc. Then because they want to get a book published or something, she allows Jerome to sleep with this old guy who owns a book store. Jerome is having a lot of fun, and doesn't return on time so she banishes him. He gets depressed a commits suicide. Then she paints on his body and buries him. The old guy digs up his body, and I wish I had turned the movie off right after that. Make sure you do. You do not want to see what happens next.