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The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book

Drama · Romance · 1995

Nagito 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.

Movie details

The Pillow Book

1995 Drama · Romance 2h 6m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Nagito 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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Pillow Book?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Peter Greenaway

Written by

Sei Shonagon · Peter Greenaway

Vivian Wu

Vivian Wu

Nagiko

Yoshi Oida

Yoshi Oida

The Publisher

Ken Ogata

Ken Ogata

The Father

Hideko Yoshida

Hideko Yoshida

The Aunt / The Maid

Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor

Jerome

Y

Yutaka Honda

Hoki

Judy Ongg

Judy Ongg

The Mother

Court is in session

Put The Pillow Book on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.