Review of The Pillow Book (1995) by Kenan I — 13 Jan 2011

It took me a long time to warm into this movie. It plays out like a biopic and there is initially a lot of exposition and we have to sit through a lot of voiceover and repetition before we get into the crux of it.

But as you become more accustomed to the style of the movie, (I actually had to watch it in two parts because I couldnt get far enough through the first time), you begin to realize that this is quite a beautifully aesthetic piece of cinema.

Very arty yes, slightly pretentious perhaps, but exquisitely beautiful nonetheless and perhaps for that a lot of the credit must go to the alluring Vivian Wu.