The Pillow Book
Dir: Peter Greenaway
1997
***
Peter Greenaway's films are a rich and exotic tapestry of theatre and dreamlike realism. There is always something a little contradictory about his films, I can't think of any that aren't stunning in their visuals but I can think of a few that still had that made for TV feel about them. His past life as a painter has always been obvious in his work and certainly no less so than in 1997's The Pillow Book. Film and painting are the same in the fact that both are visual arts but the differences between the two are vast. The Pillow Book is a stunning film to watch, Greenaway paints the film rather than than directs it but then that leaves important little things such as character development, narrative and structure by the wayside. Every artist should indulge themselves and only work on their passions, it shouldn't be any other way, but I'm afraid I don't find myself falling for this particular dream of his. He said in interviews that he intentionally added incorrect English translations in the subtitles "In the spirit of language play". I can't say I like that. I'm a huge fan of his older work, The Pillow Book just seems a little bit light in comparison. Credit given but Greenaway himself set the standard high.