--- title: "The Pillow Book" year: 1995 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-pillow-book" fi1m_id: "the-pillow-book" imdb_id: "tt0114134" tmdb_id: 26422 wikidata_id: "Q1211345" fi1m_score: 64 critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-09-26T02:47:35.277774+00:00" updated: "2026-09-26T02:47:40.055946+00:00" region: "ZA" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Pillow Book (1995) Directed by Peter Greenaway · 2h 06m · Drama, Romance ## Identity The Pillow Book - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-pillow-book - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-pillow-book - **IMDb ID:** tt0114134 - **TMDB ID:** 26422 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1211345 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114134/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/26422, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1211345 **Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 64 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* All that skin, and we kept getting distracted by the handwriting > Peter Greenaway’s *The Pillow Book* makes writing on skin absorbing to watch, but struggles to make its people matter. The visual invention rewards curiosity; the thin drama makes 126 minutes feel a considerable commitment. ## Synopsis Nagiko (Vivian Wu) is at the centre of a story shaped by birthday rituals, written words and bodies used as paper. The Father (Ken Ogata), The Publisher (Yoshi Oida) and Jerome (Ewan McGregor) are the other principal figures. Writing becomes a physical act, with skin providing the surface on which words appear. Lists from a classical text accompany the drama, and separate images share the screen. Nagiko’s story brings bodily desire and the pleasures of writing together, making the relationship between a person and a page its central concern. ## Review Peter Greenaway’s *The Pillow Book* is an absorbing visual experiment with a thin romance running through it. Writing on skin gives him a subject that can be sensual, peculiar and quite literal about the physical pleasure of words. He keeps finding ways to make us look at it. The trouble is that our interest in the lettering does not necessarily extend to whoever is wearing it, and the film needs that interest to sustain a romance. Vivian Wu plays Nagiko, and her presence keeps the writing on skin from becoming an entirely decorative exercise. Her part needs us to care about the person beneath the lettering, which is harder than it should be. The birthday rituals offer something particular to hold on to amid the elaborate imagery. Elsewhere, Peter Greenaway gives the characters too little to do that feels independent of his wish to arrange and embellish them. Sacha Vierny’s cinematography makes bodies covered in writing worth looking at long after we have understood the idea. Lettering and skin keep competing for attention, and the split screens add further choices about where to look. We were absorbed by those divided images, which made the act of looking feel unusually active. The sensuality is there, but it comes from watching shapes and surfaces, and it only intermittently makes us care about the people. The editors, Chris Wyatt and Peter Greenaway, have plenty to organise, with words and bodies competing for space. The imagery accompanying the classical text’s lists gives that busy approach a purpose: the film lets reading and looking happen together. Elsewhere, further variations on the same device begin to feel like reasons to postpone the next piece of drama. At 126 minutes, it asks for more patience than its characters can reliably earn. The production design team, which includes Wilbert Van Dorp and Andrée Putman, contributes to the film’s air of painstaking arrangement. The density of the images can be pleasurable, but after a while there seems too little space for anyone to behave untidily. Brian Eno’s music helps sustain the sensual atmosphere. It cannot make the relationships feel close when the script has left them so remote. As an experimental romance, the film has good reason to avoid the usual reassuring exchanges and explanations. Ewan McGregor’s Jerome belongs to a cast willing to work within those limits, and the actors deserve credit for taking the material seriously. But we still need some sense of what these people mean to one another. Too often, Peter Greenaway seems satisfied once he has found another way of presenting the body, leaving us to supply the longing. The film’s patience with its own devices will divide even viewers who enjoy experimental cinema. We would not suggest it as a first choice for an evening of romance. Choose it when the prospect of looking closely at pictures is enough, and do not expect the characters to repay all that attention. *Fi1m score 64, published 26 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The available reviews lean positive on The Pillow Book, with praise concentrated on its elaborate visual construction. Critics repeatedly single out the inventive imagery, intricate compositions and split-screen effects, finding sensual pleasure in a film that can otherwise feel cerebral. Even the harsher assessments acknowledge images worth looking at. The performances receive less consistent attention, though Variety praises the actors’ commitment to Greenaway’s approach. The divide is over whether that approach sustains a drama. Reservations extend from an ordinary plot beneath the decoration to thin characterisation and emotional coldness; some favourable reviews share these concerns without finding them decisive. The AV Club finds unexpected humanity and satisfaction, while the Los Angeles Times sees weak drama and unpersuasive direction of the actors. The spread is wide: admirers find the visual invention sufficient reward, while detractors find the experience muddled or dull. ## Straight answers **Is The Pillow Book worth watching?** *The Pillow Book* is worth watching for its visual invention rather than its romance, and we score it 64 out of 100. Writing on skin and divided images reward close attention, but the remote characters and repeated devices make 126 minutes a considerable commitment, even for viewers who enjoy experimental cinema. **How long is The Pillow Book, and what is it rated?** *The Pillow Book* runs 2h 06m. It is a drama and romance film. **Where can I watch The Pillow Book in South Africa?** *The Pillow Book* is not on any streaming or rental service in South Africa at the moment. It is available in 4 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is The Pillow Book, and is it suitable for children?** *The Pillow Book* has a UK 18 certificate and is not suitable for children; its sensual treatment of bodies and desire makes it an adult viewing choice. We would not take the emphasis on handwriting and imagery as reassurance about violence or frightening material: the certificate establishes an adult restriction, not the specific reasons for it. **How does The Pillow Book compare to Hiroshima Mon Amour?** *The Pillow Book* is the less emotionally involving romance beside [*Hiroshima Mon Amour*](https://film.one/film/hiroshima-mon-amour), which we recommend more readily for its treatment of memory and desire. Greenaway concentrates on writing, skin and divided images, while Resnais lets the past interrupt the present through editing; despite some overworked dialogue, Riva and Okada give that film’s demanding approach more human weight. **What should I watch after The Pillow Book?** After *The Pillow Book*, try [*Hiroshima mon amour*](https://film.one/film/hiroshima-mon-amour) (1959, Fi1m 87): An intimate encounter becomes a searching film about memory and desire. Then [*Portrait of a Lady on Fire*](https://film.one/film/portrait-of-a-lady-on-fire) (2019, Fi1m 89): Painting, patient observation and desire lead to a warmer, more intimate romance. ### Reviews we read (8) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (85/100, inferred): The review finds the film dense but enormously impressive, ultimately calling it awesome and beautiful. It singles out the inventive visual design and the actors’ commitment to Greenaway’s vision for praise. [Read](https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/the-pillow-book-1117794006/) - **Radio Times**, Tom Hutchinson (4/5): The critic finds the film extraordinary and visually ravishing, though also over-decorated and emotionally cold. The split-screen motifs are singled out as a wonder to behold. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-9he7cl/the-pillow-book/) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (80/100, inferred): Maslin finds the film a spellbinding, highly seductive stylistic exercise, though its plot has a banal core. She especially praises its audacious imagery and intricate visual design. [Read](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/pillow-film-review.html) - **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (75/100, inferred): Phipps finds the film surprisingly humane and satisfying, despite its cerebral detachment. He singles out its inventive visuals, which sometimes become sensual rather than merely dazzling. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-pillow-book-1798195192) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (64/100, inferred): The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No praise or complaint is visible in the supplied page text. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-pillow-book-1997) - **Time Out**, TCh (64/100, inferred): The accessible page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is unavailable. The metadata describes Nagiko’s birthday rituals without revealing what the critic praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-pillow-book) - **Empire**, Leah Jewett (35/100, inferred): Jewett finds the film an opaque, muddled experience despite its sensual qualities. She criticizes its skin-as-paper imagery for wearing thin and its failure to develop characters or illuminate Japanese rites. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pillow-book-review/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (25/100, inferred): Turan finds the film visually arresting but ultimately cold, pretentious, and dull. He praises the imagery illustrating the classical text’s lists, while faulting Greenaway’s weak drama and direction of the actors. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-06-ca-467-story.html) ## Details - **Director:** Peter Greenaway - **Director:** Peter Greenaway - **Writer:** Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway - **Cinematography:** Sacha Vierny - **Editor:** Peter Greenaway, Chris Wyatt - **Music:** Brian Eno - **Production design:** Kôichi Hamamura, Hiroto Oonogi, Wilbert Van Dorp, Andrée Putman, Willemijn Loivers, Noriyuki Tanaka - **Costume design:** Koji Tatsuno, Dien van Straalen, Martin Margiela - **Producer:** Kees Kasander - **Cast:** Vivian Wu as Nagiko; Yoshi Oida as The Publisher; Ken Ogata as The Father; Hideko Yoshida as The Aunt / The Maid; Ewan McGregor as Jerome; Yutaka Honda as Hoki; Judy Ongg as The Mother; Ken Mitsuishi as The Husband - **Runtime:** 2h 06m - **First release (Italy):** 1 September 1995 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance ## Where to watch in South Africa Not streaming, renting or buying in South Africa at the last check. Also available in: FR, IT, PT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award 1996: Sitges Film Festival Best Feature-Length Film award (won) ## If you liked this - *Prospero’s Books* (1991): Another Peter Greenaway experiment where bodies, books and layered images demand attention. - *Hiroshima mon amour* (1959), Fi1m 87: An intimate encounter becomes a searching film about memory and desire. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hiroshima-mon-amour.md) - *Woman in the Dunes* (1964): Tactile images and confined bodies turn an unusual premise into sustained unease. - *The Colour of Pomegranates* (1969): For the pleasure of reading images when conventional storytelling has stepped aside. - *Portrait of a Lady on Fire* (2019), Fi1m 89: Painting, patient observation and desire lead to a warmer, more intimate romance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/portrait-of-a-lady-on-fire.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-pillow-book