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The Pillow Book The Pillow Book (1996) – Peter Greenaway This film is another visual exploration by Greenaway. Like his other works (8 ½ Women 1999; Prospero’s Books 1991; The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover 1989; Drowning By Numbers 1988 ) his films are drawn more from his art school experience than the genres of film. His cinematic canvases are one’s that demand both attention and aesthetic appreciation. It is for this reason that Greenaway has been accused of ignoring character development over scenario. That can be argued, but in every film there is a theme of richly textured spaces, with extraordinary characters expressing ordinary lives within unusual circumstances. The title “Pillow Book” refers in general to the custom of ladies of the aristocracy keeping essentially a diary of their erotic experiences and pleasures. A book to be kept under one’s pillow. Specifically, the title refers to “The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon” (1010) written by a lady in waiting in the Court of the Japanese Empress of the time. Although the book does reveal erotic adventures, it also reveals the subtle eroticism in the appreciation of simple pleasures and observations. It is the later the Greenaway’s visual expression adheres to. The story of the film revolves around the ritual of being painted upon with writing on one’s birthday. The heroine, Nagiko (Vivian Wu), experiences this ritual on her birthdays as a , and seeks this ritual in her adult life. Her need for ritual evolves into a fetish for calligraphy, becoming the underlying drive in her sexual expression and frustration. In one of her desperate moments she laments that she can find wonderful lovers who cannot write, and wonderful writers who are terrible lovers. There are two main themes in this film, revenge and spurned love. Nagiko seeks revenge against a powerful publisher who abused her father and used him sexually while she witnessed the acts. She seeks to make him pay for the emotional trauma and shame her father had to endure to support the family through his writing. In the process of trying to get close to the publisher, the adult Nagiko garners the support of a bi-sexual translator (Ewan McGreggor). He engages her fetish for body-writing by offering himself as the canvas since he cannot meet her stringent demands of her calligrapher-lovers. He also offers himself to the publisher on behalf of Nagiko, but this begins to affect their relationship. The film adopts Shakespearian themes to resolve the character’s plights. The film is a visual and cultural treat. The visuals are layered and interlaced, each rich in their own. Culturally the film seamlessly blends ancient Japanese and Chinese ritual with modern Hong Kong, Japan and Western influences (including English literary traditions). The erotic visuals maintain a sensuality without succumbing to modern filmic tropes of sex on the screen. The intensity of the calligraphic fetish is honored through the rich tapestry of Greenaway’s visual style. With that, some people find this film a difficult watch. It is more of a visual experience than a “movie”. The dialogue drifts in and out of Chinese, English, Japanese, French and even Yiddish. Viewing it in a widescreen format does honor to Greenaway’s art and also permits the subtitles to appear below the screen. As an introduction to the director, this film is less than accommodating, but Greenaway is an uncompromising director and one who contribution will not be forgotten. His films can be enjoyed as a visual journey regardless of the plot. As a filmic exploration of a fetish, the visual style exudes the eroticism experienced and sought by the heroine. Although one may not have this specific fetish, one can appreciate such acts by the films exploration of it. The film caresses the subject like a brush stroke. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Note: for more plot driven, yet still visually expressive, films by Greenaway, one should view “Drowning By Numbers” (1988 ) and “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover” (1989). The later of which I am debating on reviewing for this blog. Note: I am pretty sure there is a technical term for the fetish of writing and particularly writing on skin. However I cannot find it. If anyone knows, please post it here.  |
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