The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book

1995126 min6.4 / 10

A visually sumptuous, intellectually complex erotic drama that uses calligraphy and the body as sites of desire, betrayal, and existential meaning.

Nagito has a fetish for calligraphy on the human body and meets her ideal soulmate Jerome, an English translator sent to Japan. However, once Nagiko's father's gay publisher rejoins the scene, the story is overtaken by treachery and bloodlust.

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