The Pillow Book (film)

The Pillow Book (film)

The Pillow Book is a 1996 film by British director 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 idealized Chinese and Japanese cultural themes and settings, and centers around body painting.

It co-stars Ewan McGregor as Jerome, an English translator who becomes Nagiko's favourite lover. Greenaway also wrote the screenplay, in addition to directing. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. Andrew Johnston (critic) stated: "Most of Greenaway's signature visual devices (elaborate title cards, superimposed images) are employed here; but accompanied by U2 songs and traditional Asian music, instead of a Michael Nyman score, they seem fresher and more dynamic than before. The actors are required to submit completely to Greenaway's mechanics, but there isn't one bad performance. McGregor and Oida (as a venal publisher) are especially fine."