Miwako Kawai Movies
Peter Greenaway directed this elliptical and visually intricate tale of the far side of erotic and intellectual attraction. As a girl, Nagiko would receive a special gift each year from her father: a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) who would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) read aloud from The Pillow Book, a classic Japanese text on the art of love. As Nagiko (Vivian Wu) reached adulthood, her father insisted on putting a stop to this ritual, and he persuaded her to marry the nephew of his publisher (Ken Mitsuishi). But Nagiko is not satisfied with her husband, and after finding success as a model, she seeks a lover who will indulge her fondness for literature by writing verse on her naked body. In time, she finds happiness with a British expatriate named Jerome (Ewan McGregor), who persuades her to use his body as paper for her poetry, but the interference of her father's publisher (Yoshi Oida) gives their relationship a tragic turn. Greenaway deliberately mistranslated some of the French and Japanese dialogue for The Pillow Book, hoping that the occasionally fractured language would give the film a "Tower of Babel" quality. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vivian Wu, Ewan McGregor, (more)
- 1994
Former adult video director Ryuichi Hiroki makes his straight-flick debut with this stylized coming-of-age drama about a pair of long-distance runners. Kenji (Shunsuke Matsuoka), a rich kid from the tony neighborhood of Shonan Beach, is obsessed with the memory of his dead track star friend, with whom he had a brief homosexual encounter. He is dating Kyoko (Miwako Kawai), the track star's former girlfriend, who is obsessed with Kenji. Though he would rather discuss metaphysics than engage in sexual congress, Kyoko eventually drags Kenji to bed. The result is less than sterling. Meanwhile, Ryuji (Eugene Nomura), a poor student from Kawasaki, is Kenji's friend and rival on the track. Unlike his cold-fish comrade, Ryuji has more libido than he knows what to do with. He spends much of his energy pursuing a leggy hurdler who has the hots for Kenji. Later, Ryuji finds himself in a love hotel with Kenji's little sister. Realizing that she is the spitting image of his friend, he backs off and the two spend the evening singing karaoke instead. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shunsuke Matsuoka, Yujin Normura, (more)
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