The Pillow Book: A Paper Trailer

The Pillow Book

A paper trailer of the film

The Pillow Book

If writing did not exist

what terrible depressions we should suffer.

In rememberance of my father

I was determined to take lovers

who would remind me

of the pleasures of calligraphy.

O N E

B U T

A L W A Y S

W H O S E

A L W A Y S F O R G E T S

S U R P R I S I N G E F F I C I E N C Y

W H O S E P U R P O S E I S N E V E R I N D O U B T

W E L L T H E

A N D T H E

L I K E

I S

L A C Q U E R E D

L I K E

H A I R

Q U I L L

T H A T I N S T R U M E N T O F P L E A S U R E

Q U I L L ?

I S

A N D

O U T

W H O

T H E

O F

H A S

B L A C K I N K

A R A I N Y G A R D E N

J U S T P A I D A S U R P R I S E V I S I T

O F

I S

A

L I K E

N E W L O V E R

T H E S C E N T O F S K I N

T H E S M E L L O F W H I T E P A P E R

I enjoyed the smell of paper of all kinds.

It reminded me of the scent of skin.

treat me like the page of a book

paper and brush

one and the same

The Pillow Book Directed by

Peter Greenaway

Plot

Produced by

Kees Kasander

Written by

Peter Greenaway

Starring

Vivian Wu as Nagiko Ewan McGregor as Jerome Yoshi Oida as The Publisher

The film’s title, “The Pillow Book”, refers to an ancient Japanese diary, the book of observations by Sei Shnagon, actual name believed to be Kiyohara Nagiko, from whence the protagonist’s name in the film.

Music by

Brian Eno

Distributed by

Lions Gate Films

Release date

8 November 1996 (Cannes)

Running time

126 minutes

The Pillow Book is a 1996 erotic drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, which stars Vivian Wu as Nagiko, a Japanese model with a body writing fetish who seeks to find a combined lover and calligrapher. The film is a melding of dark modern drama with idealised Chinese and Japanese cultural themes and settings, and centres on body painting.

The film is narrated by Nagiko (Vivian Wu), a Japanese born model living in Hong Kong.

Nagiko seeks a lover who can match her desire for carnal pleasure with her admiration for poetry and calligraphy. The roots of this obsession lie in her youth in Kyoto, when her father (Ken Ogata) would write characters of good fortune on her face.

Nagiko’s father celebrates her birthday retelling the Japanese creation myth and writing on her flesh in beautiful calligraphy, while her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) reads a list of “beautiful things” from Sei Shnagon’s the book of observations. Nagiko’s aunt tells her that when she is twenty-eight years old, the official book of observations will be officially 1000 years old, and that she, Nagiko, will be the same age as Sei Shnagon when she had written the book (in addition to sharing her first name). Nagiko also learns around this time that her father is in thrall to his publisher, “Yaji-san” (Yoshi Oida), who demands sexual favours from her father in exchange for publishing his work.

Jayme Brooke Miller-DeLorenzo Secondo menabò Esercizio 2.2 Film: The Pillow Book A.A. 2020-2021 Laboratorio di sintesi finale Design della comunicazione / C3 Testi composti in: IM FELL Double Pica, Bely Stampa: Poliprint, PoliMi, Milano Carta: Navigator, Universal, 80 gr.

Finito di stampare il: 9 ottobre 2020