THE PILLOW BOOK
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United Kingdom, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 6/97 (limited) Running Length: 2:06 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Nudity, sex, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 and 2.35:1
Cast: Vivian Wu, Ewan McGregor, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida Director: Peter Greenaway Producer: Kees Kasander Screenplay: Peter Greenaway Cinematography: Sacha Vierny U.S. Distributor: Cinepix Film Properties In English and Japanese with subtitles
Calligraphy is one subject that not many movies have explored, and none has approached it in quite the way that British director Peter Greenaway does in his latest motion picture, THE PILLOW BOOK. To use the film's own words to describe it, this is about the "two things in life that are dependable: the delights of the flesh and the delights of literature" and how they can be melded into one. If you're looking for something off the beaten path this summer, THE PILLOW BOOK won't disappoint. Whatever its shortcomings, this film is different.
Of course, considering the director, that's hardly surprising. Greenaway has routinely spurned traditional movie making techniques, preferring to use celluloid as an experimental canvas. His reputation has been formed largely as a result of a series of intriguingly unconventional motion pictures, including PROSPERO'S BOOKS, a bizarre re-invention of Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, and THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, a twisted fable about an eloquent gangster getting his just desserts. The closest Greenaway has ever come to being mainstream is THE COOK, but, considering the relatively widespread distribution that THE PILLOW BOOK is likely to receive, that may change.
While there's nothing especially groundbreaking or difficult to grasp in THE PILLOW BOOK, Greenaway's experimentation here still has the power to alienate audiences who aren't prepared for what the film offers. As has been true in his past efforts, there are copious amounts of full frontal nudity, and it seems that lead actors Vivian Wu (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) and Ewan McGregor (TRAINSPOTTING) perform half of their scenes without any clothes on. Nevertheless, by keeping the audience at arm's length, Greenaway manages the impressive feat of de-eroticizing the nudity.
For the most part, the director seems more concerned about technique than narrative and character development. The plot functions more as a series of markers for Greenaway's stylistic riffs than a necessary aspect of the movie. Indeed, THE PILLOW BOOK is so visually arresting that it's capable of holding our attention for two hours largely on the strength of its images. There are pictures-within- pictures, French song lyrics rolling across the bottom of the screen, multiple aspect ratios, color bleeding into black-and-white scenes, and other intriguing methods of composition. Even simple shots, such as a swirl of ink-saturated water being sucked into a drain -- a color image that's all black-and-white -- can be striking. And, for those who enjoy a little bafflement, there's a sequence near the end where the dialogue is in Japanese, but Greenaway intentionally does not use subtitles.
The only character of any real importance in THE PILLOW BOOK is Nagiko, a Japanese-born fashion model with obsessions for calligraphy, physical pleasure, and revenge. When she's a child, her loving father (Ken Ogata), a master calligrapher, paints a traditional blessing on her face every birthday. Nagiko adores her father almost to the point of worship, and is horrified to learn that, to get his work published, he has to submit to homosexual relations with his publisher (Yoshi Oida). To make matters worse, that same publisher arranges for Nagiko to be trapped into marrying a cruel, callous man who views her as an object, not a person. Eventually, fed up with her life, she flees Japan for Hong Kong, where she begins her career.
When she was little, Nagiko's aunt would read her excerpts from the PILLOW BOOK OF SEI SHONAGON, the 1000-year old diary of a courtesan. In Hong Kong, Nagiko begins her own pillow book, but, instead of writing on paper, she uses the bodies of her lovers. They, in turn, utilize her flesh for their calligraphy. Nagiko's quest is for the perfect lover/calligrapher combination, but it becomes a difficult search. As she says, the older men are not interested in the pleasure she can provide, and the younger men are easily distracted. Then she meets Jerome (Ewan McGregor), an Englishman in Hong Kong, who proves not only to be her artistic match, but offers the means by which she can enact a long-dormant plan of vengeance against her father's publisher.
As Nagiko, Vivian Wu gives an impressive performance, using her bare skin as a tablet for the calligrapher's ink and her acting ability as a means to flesh out her character. Ultimately, Nagiko becomes the only well-realized personality in THE PILLOW BOOK. The supporting characters who surround her, including Ewan McGregor's Jerome, are shallow and thinly-realized, often functioning more as plot devices than individuals. Wu's Nagiko is THE PILLOW BOOK's only truly human element.
There's something admittedly fascinating about the way Greenaway explores this mixture of calligraphy and the human form. However, as unique as this combination may be, it's actually one of THE PILLOW BOOK's few original ideas. Other directors may hesitate to venture into such unfamiliar territory, but Greenaway has been here before. In its approach to sexual obsession, art, and revenge, THE PILLOW BOOK often recalls THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, sometimes almost to the point of cannibalization. Visually, however, THE PILLOW BOOK erupts in a manner that causes THE COOK (which was stylistically memorable in its own right) to pale in comparison.
The great irony of this film, which is (at least on one level) about the power of writing, is that the words are of secondary importance to the overwhelming visual presentation. The camera, not the script, dominates our response to Greenaway's film. In the final analysis, THE PILLOW BOOK has much more to show than it has to say.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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