The Pillow Book - 1996 ***

A somewhat bizarre film about a woman whose father used to write poems on her face every year in a beautiful calligraphy on her birthday whilst her mother read her pages from 'The Pillow Book', a collection of thoughts and musings. As she approaches womanhood and marries a man unsuited to her she understands the beauty and hidden meaning of the written word, and seeks to use it in any way she possibly can. One good thing about this movie is that you get a peek into Japanese culture which is always interesting, one bad thing is the presence of Ewan MacGregor, whose constant naked form is somewhat disconcerting. He doesn't need to be in this movie, or be showing off his genitalia in every which way and I think him being there lowers the tone of something which I think could otherwise be memorable.