Rating: 
Summary: Repulsive
Review: This movie is one of the worst I have seen. The main character is telling a story of love, but she is actually shallow and ordinary except for her strange calligraphy obsession. The beauty of Asian culture is twisted and portrayed strangely. The only saving grace of the film was Ewan McGregor, but an act that is disgusting and repulsive is done to his character and may disturb many viewers. On the whole, the film attempted to make up for its lack of a plot or good acting with a lot of nudity and different filming techniques -- and is unsuccessful.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange, and Memorable
Review: I came across this film last year on the Independent Film Channel and was transfixed by it. Odd? Yes. Bizarre? Sometimes. And
I could not get it out of my mind.
Director Greenaway seems to make movies that stick in the mind of the beholder. I also loved "Nora." -- Both films were directed by him and star Ewan McGregor.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful
Review: This is probably the most beautiful movie you will ever see. If you are open minded, it may even change your life.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely fine cinema
Review: This film is truly able to stand on its own in the cinematic world. It is filmed so that it mimics the reading of a personal journal (the pillow book) and the story is SO erotically charged and titillating that watching it is to experience Greenaway's vision of *sex and literature* - highly HIGHLY recommended. It's like really good sex and a really good book packed into a really great film... very thoughtful and indulgent.
Rating: 
Summary: well made film.
Review: This is one of these films that is hard to put to words. The film was made with a odd kind of video camera were the viewer can see 2 to 4 things at once along with Subtitles to the Japanese and Chinese (it is set in Japan and Hong Kong) language of the film making it like a book you read then a film to watch. The story is mote about the live of a woman (Vivian Wu) who is obsessed with recreating two childhood rituals one of them being to use her body to write words on and to write her own "Pillow book" (diary). One of the longest films I have seen this year. 1997. RCA. 126 MINS.
Rating: 
Summary: Film seems to focus more on artful cuts than plot
Review: Somehow, this movie gets bogged down by artful cuts, cinematography and just thin excuses to see Vivian Wu and Ewan McGregor naked, despite its ambitious attempts to make a provacative, erotic and disturbing piece of cinema. The plot, which is about a young Japanese model (Wu) who takes on a young bisexual Englishman (McGregor) as a lover who lets her draw calligraphy on him while putting forth a long-dormant plan to get revenge on the Publisher who sexually used her father to have her father's work published when she was a young child. The plot has a lot to be desired to be fashioned into a sumptuous, erotic piece of cinema, but it only effectively works in the first half, where various lingering shots of Wu's body decorated with calligraphy work in sync with the plot. Sadly, in the second part, the movie seemingly degrades into a shallow exploitative flick where Greenaway wants every man to strip down, while the shots are mainly quick and frustratingly inept. The ending itself is unmoving and is especially contrived. If you're looking for a sumptuous, erotic film, don't look here, but go for the R-rated, but much better, "Eyes Wide Shut." If you're looking for no holds-barred excuse to see Vivian Wu and/or Ewan McGregor in the nude, look no further than "The Pillow Book." Not rated, but the equivalent of a NC-17 for graphic nudity, sexuality, violence, and drug use.
Rating:
Summary: My *FAVORITE* movie of all time...
Review: I just read through some of the reviews that this film has been given, and I do believe that I've lost faith that the general public can enjoy well-made film. Why are we looking for someone to "root" for? What's wrong with seeing naked people? Why do we only want to see Ewan as a character in Star Wars? Geez. People should have to pass IQ tests before being able to be subjected to anything from Greenaway. He is so much more brilliant than we can imagine. Not only is this movie visually stimulating, but Greenaway encaptures the agonizing waiting aspect of a culture in the way in which the storyline is carried out. EVERY character is perfectly cast. I was so turned on by this movie in every way(don't read into this too much). Perhaps the issues are a bit exaggerated, but so is every other romantic movie. The themes he tackles are universal. Not only do we encounter romance and the tragedies that often come with it, but the restraints of our cultures, the things(not only physical) which we inherit from our families, the birth of and cultivation of seemingly odd quirks(we all have them), and the sense of satisfaction when we get over something and move on in our lives. PLEASE, if you did not enjoy this movie, DON'T WATCH ANY MORE GREENAWAY. You obviously aren't going to understand his depth. Go back to your single plot line, dumbed-down movies.
Rating:
Summary: One Beautiful Movie
Review: This is a stunning film. Not only is the cinematography exquisite, but the plot was so absorbing, and immediately I was drawn in. The love story was so romantic and sensual, and for once there is no sticky-sweet happy ending. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: ahem....
Review: If your idea of a good movie is watching Ewan McGregor walking around naked with his uncut equipment flopping around going from sex with one fat old asian man to another then yeah you'll love this movie and you can hide behind the same critiques about the films mis en scene that these other critics are blowing hot air about. Otherwise forget it. This film is both boring and disturbing and not in a cool way either. There are some colorful visuals with the beautiful young starlet and her fetish for writing Mandarin on bodies but it doesn't save the film. How are we supposed to take him seriously as Obi Wan after seeing this?
Rating: 
Summary: The movie came on televsion, that's why I watched it.
Review: Ok, lets get it out. This movie was strange. I get offended when I see women doing full frontal nudity especially while the men are fully clothed, but after seeing this movie, I realize that I just don't care for nudity of any kind during movies that are not rated XXX. The suicide was uncalled for. There wasn't a justification for it--if we all killed ourselves because the person we loved (... had sex with) wouldn't talk to us, the human race would be near extinction. The rejection could have been written in a far better way.
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