Movie

The Pillow Book

1995 · 126 min

A sensual, cerebral art film that seduces with gorgeous calligraphy and flesh, then turns cold and cruel.

Directed by: Peter Greenaway
Genres: Drama, Romance
Starring: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata

Overview: Nagiko has a fetish for calligraphy on the human body and meets her ideal soulmate Jerome, an English translator sent to Japan. However, once Nagiko's father's gay publisher rejoins the scene, the story is overtaken by treachery and bloodlust.

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Directed by: Peter Greenaway
Genres: Drama, Romance
Starring: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
romanticstrength 2 of 3
eeriestrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: obsession
identity
revenge
art
sexuality
Places: big city
home
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
unreliable narrator
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex strong

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	3
Humour	3
Realism	5
Romance	7
Tension	5
Darkness	7
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	7

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Details

Genres: drama, romance
Directed by: Peter Greenaway
Written by: Peter Greenaway, Sei Shonagon
Starring: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida, Ewan McGregor, Yutaka Honda, Judy Ongg, Ken Mitsuishi
Music: Brian Eno
Cinematography: Sacha Vierny
Runtime: 126 min
Country: France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg
Languages: English, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, French, Cantonese

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The Pillow Book

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