The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book is an award-winning drama film from 1995, directed by renowned British director Peter Greenaway, showcasing a fine cast - Vivian Wu, Ewan McGregor, and Yoshi Oida, among others. The film circles around an intricate and unique blend of themes, continually shifting between desire, obsession, revenge, and the transformative power of art, all presented in Greenaway's signature style.

Set primarily in Hong Kong and Japan and expressed via the aesthetics of body-based art forms mainly calligraphy, The Pillow Book introduces a distinct narrative approach to the audience. The story draws inspiration from "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon," an ancient collection of essays by a court lady in Heian Japan.

Vivian Wu plays the beautiful yet tormented lead character, Nagiko, a Japanese model. Nagiko's character, from an early age, develops a fascination for the art of calligraphy, blending her passion for words and writing with the human form. This fascination is the direct result of a tradition initiated by her father (played by Yoshi Oida), a writer and calligrapher himself, who paints a birthday greeting on her face every year. Thus the canvas of human skin becomes an emotional outlet for Nagiko, linking her past to her future.

Ewan McGregor portrays a British translator and Nagiko's lover, Jerome. Jerome's character adds a new layer to the narrative, adding a new dimension to Nagiko's journey. He willingly lets Nagiko use his body as a canvas for her calligraphic creations, which brings a new stage into the life and art of Nagiko.

As the events unfold, the audience is invited to celebrate the art of storytelling through the fusion of cinematic and calligraphic art. The narrative continually surprises with its bold exploration of themes such as love, desire, and vengeance while purposefully highlighting the novel’s unending influence.

Foregoing conventional film norms, Greenaway creates a cinematic blend of aesthetics, eroticism, and language to paint a vivid narrative picture. The cinematography echoes the artistry of Nagiko's calligraphy, with often lavish and sumptuous visuals, presenting a visual feast where viewers can immerse themselves in the breathtaking imagery. The director also uses split-screen techniques, inserting images within images to narrate multiple stories at once, an interesting play on the idea of a story within a story.

Moreover, the film successfully showcases the cross-cultural encounter of East and West through the interaction of its lead characters. Western culture, symbolized by Jerome (Ewan McGregor), commingles with the native Japanese culture personified by Nagiko (Vivian Wu), an encounter simultaneously intimate and illustrative of an often complicated cultural exchange.

While the film is in part narrative and in part poetic, it is also deeply philosophical, dealing with life, love, revenge, death, and the transformative power of words and art. The creative use of calligraphy on the human body as a form of expression encapsulates the dialogue between the visual and the written, a rarity in cinematic artistry.

The soundscape of the movie is just as essential as its visual appeal. Complementing Greenaway's beautiful imagery is a memorable, dramatic score that varies from the delicate, ethereal sounds of ancient music to contemporary rhythms, adding depth to the film's atmosphere.

The Pillow Book unapologetically confronts the viewer with an unconventional cinematic experience. Just as Nagiko explores the depths of her artistry, so does the film push boundaries, emerging as a contemplative exploration of human identity, desire, and artistic expression, beautifully rendered in Greenaway's cinematic language.

Thought-provoking, artistic, and unique, The Pillow Book presents a captivating amalgamation of cinema and art, testing the boundaries of traditional filmmaking while captivating its audience. One cannot help but be drawn into the seductive mix of ink on skin, the poignancy of transcribed emotions, and the intense performance of the cast. This 1995 feature is a must-watch for those who appreciate films that delve into depths of the human spirit through the transformative power of art.