Film Review: The Pillow Book

[fullygoldy]

The Netflix blurb states thusly:

A beautiful Japanese model gets caught in the throes of an erotic obsession.  Magiko's father's habit of painting characters on her body plays out as sexual theater in her adulthood, as she demands that man after man paint on her skin.  Ewan McGregor stars as Jerome, the lover who inspires her to use a calligraphy brush on him.  Langorous and stylish, The Pillow Book is a sensual treat.

Which is to say:  It's freakin' weird!

It is also 2 hrs and 1 min of lots of arty camera shots and full frontal nudity of the male variety. It's not rated.  McGregor turns out to be nicely endowed.  There aren't a lot of sex scenes, but there are close ups of naked bodies adorned with gorgeous Japanese calligraphy.  There are subtitles, but not always, and frequently the characters speak English.  Also, it is a full embodiment of the saying "revenge is a dish best served cold."  The relationships are twisted and the mores are very Japanese.

I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but it was interesting and different.  It certainly was the kind of thing to watch with nothing else on but the state of the union address. (I just couldn't listen to that man last night.  I'd already had a frustrating day and didn't need to add to my stress level.)

Comments

[fates-schmuck.livejournal.com]

For a while, I was obsessed with the work of that director, Peter Greenaway. He's a style-over-easily-understandable-substance type of artisan, who in my elitist snobbery I just go apeshit for. Most of his movies can leave one feeling that they didn't exactly enjoy it, but you do appreciate what he tried to produce.

His most accessible film, in my opinion, is "Drowning by Numbers." (Not to be confused with a horrible piece of recent thriller-fluff, "Murder by Numbers.") "Drowning" is still unavailable on DVD, though, so you probably won't catch it anywhere other than the rare Sundance Channel showing.

His most famous films are probably "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover," and "Prospero's Books." If you feel like seeing a movie that approaches the craft like an allegorical novel or a coffee-table photography book respectively, go ahead and enjoy these films.

[fullygoldy.livejournal.com]

I think I've heard of "The Cook" actually, maybe I'll look these up some time :)

[bzdchris.livejournal.com]

I'd heard of this movie, although at first I confused it with another Japanese movie from a few years ago; not much dialogue apparently, but the passion and artiness was supposed to be intense. Full frontal on Ewan McGregor, huh? That alone might be worth it.

[fullygoldy.livejournal.com]

yeah, and not the lame-o sillouette (sp) we got w/ Richard Gere in Am. Gigolo. McGregor spends a lot of his scenes unclothed, as does the adult version of the female lead, and the dozen or so other men she writes on