Green Acres

I'm in the middle of watching Pillow Book. I've seen several of Peter Greenaway's films: Drowning by Numbers, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover, Prospero's Books, 8 1/2 Women, and The Pillow Book. Of the films he's made that I want to see: Tulse Luper Suitcases (three parts), Baby of Macon, and The Falls. I saw part of The Draughtsman Contract.

Most people wouldn't watch Greenaway at all if were not for nudity. Greenaway uses, in most of his films, the most casual use of nudity. Often, nudity is not meant to be alluring, nor sexy, and often, it's male nudity. He has had some moderately famous actors shed clothes in his films, the most notable being Helen Mirren, in Cook, Ewan McGregor in Pillow Book, and Ralph Fiennesin Baby of Macon.

Greenaway often cares very little about a strong plot or characters. He tends to like disruption in order. He's fascinated by art and literature, more so than the film medium he uses.

I decided to watch Pillow Book again. For those who want to see Ewan in the buff, this is the film (though certainly, he's never been too hesitant to show off his manhood--see Young Adam, Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine for a few examples.

Of all the films I remember from Greenaway, Pillow Book is the one that has the closest thing to a coherent plot, and characters that you can somewhat care about. The story begins with Nagiko, as a child. Her father is a writer, and on each birthday, he inks, on her face, an incantation about the creation of man (or woman), then on the back, he inscribes that if God likes his creation, he brings it to life by signing his name.

Nagiko's father, however, doesn't get published without sexual favors that he must do for his publisher. His daughter, who also aspires to be a writer, wishes to take revenge. She eventually decides to seduce Jerome (played by Ewan McGregor), who is the publisher's current lover.

If the film is about anything, it's the love of both literature and sexuality. The Pillow Book refers to a book written by a Japanese woman also named Nagiko, who made lists, loved literature, and loved men. The current day Nagiko also loves calligraphy and men in particular, seeking the perfect combination. This is something of theme for Greenaway, who also appreciates art, literature, and sexuality or love.

A Greenaway film is visually lush. The plot is, well, convenient, as it drives the story forward, but Greenaway is just as interested in putting images of beauty on the screen, whether it be calligraphy or song or literature. In this film, he puts images within images, lyrics of songs written in calligraphy, and most notably, the use of calligraphy on the body, thus making the most literal combination of literature and sexuality. Few, if any, directors think like Greenaway who fancies himself an artist, a painter, a poet, more than he thinks of himself as a director.

Greenaway is fascinated by lists, by numbers, by patterns. Often, he's just as interested in this, as he is in the storyline. The story often has some lurid elements, but it's set very formally.

In Pillow Book, there is a story of revenge, as well as Jerome's mad love for Nagiko. The characters aren't particularly deep. Even as Jerome's mother tries to flesh out his past, and his interest in Asia, he's a very thin character, and Nagiko herself is also thin. She is mostly about her revenge and her desire for art and love.

You get the sense that Greenaway is making a commentary about art itself, though these stories, that the average person doesn't care about art the way they should, the way the characters do, and the way he does. This is mostly seen from Nagiko's husband, who uses archery to shoot at Nagiko's books, tries to restrict the number of books she owns, and eventually burns books. He is seen as a complete simpleton when it comes to art, and Nagiko will have nothing of him.

Greenaway loves the juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness, in this case, of art and of revenge. There's the scene of Ewan with calligraphy over his body, and the business suit wearing Japanese who transcribe the words onto paper. It is the contrast of art and business. Of art and sex.

There have been two Greenaway films set partly in Japan: Pillow Book and 8 1/2 Women. I think Greenaway likes the stark contrast of Asian to Western art, the formality in the society, the masks people hide. He uses imagery familiar to Kurosawa fans, that echo Noh theater. In particular, he seems to admire the reverence of calligraphy, as well as Eastern views of sensuality.

Language also appears to be important. Vivian Wu, a Chinese, plays Nagiko, a Japanese. Throughout the film, she speaks Japanese or Chinese or English. Greenaway clearly knows that she speaks a multitude of languages, and even works it into the story. He tells of her leaving Japan for Hong Kong, learning Chinese, as she learned from her Chinese mother, then going back to Japan. In the meanwhile, she narrates in a British English though she claims to want to learn to speak like an American. Jerome is a translator who can speak several languages.

I wonder what the meaning of language is to Greenaway. Clearly, he's fascinated by cultural differences, and seems to have some grasp of the culture and art, even as he puts his unique spin on the presentation.

There are some that hate Greenaway, who see him using nudity because that's the only way people will watch his films. His disdain for traditional crowd-pleasing elements. Even so, Pillow Book, for a Greenaway film, has a discernible plot, but it is that, the visual feast he presents, that ultimately provide the Greenaway experience. He tries to present multiple stimulations to the senses, and is perhaps unique in the way he does it.