8 ½ Women
After the death of his wife, wealthy businessman Philip Emmenthal and his son Storey open their own private harem in their family residence in Geneva (they get the idea while watching Federico Fellini's 8½ and after Storey is "given" a woman, Simato (Inoh), to waive her pachinko debts). They sign one-year contracts with eight (and a half) women to this effect. The women each have a gimmick (one is a nun, another a kabuki performer, etc.). Philip soon becomes dominated by his favourite of the concubines, Palmira, who has no interest in Storey as a lover, despite what their contract might stipulate. Philip dies, the concubines' contracts expire, and Storey is left alone with Giulietta (the titular "½", played by Fujiwara) and of course the money and the houses.
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- Cast：
- John Standing , Matthew Delamere , Vivian Wu , Annie Shizuka Inoh , Toni Collette , Claire Johnston , Polly Walker
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Reviews
Pretty Good
Highly Overrated But Still Good
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
I'm a big Greenaway fan, his movies always inspired me visually. Sometimes his stories doesn't work, but always his visual sense is astonishingly beautiful.Except with this film. It feels like Greenaway lost his touch. Many "lame" visuals and corny shots, reminding more of leaflet photography rather than something visually interesting.There were a lot of interesting thoughts expressed through the father, but that was pretty much it. If you're a Greenaway fan you'll be disappointed, but you have to see it anyway... If you haven't seen any of his movies I recommend his older movies.
Frederico Fellini's "8 1/2" is a movie this one is theoretically inspired by. There are consistent references to it in this film, some subtle, and some glaringly obvious. One should take this into account so that it will not hamper one's voluntary suspension of disbelief, though this movie definitely stands on its own if the viewer has never seen "8 1/2".Voluntary is, perhaps, an inappropriate word. This movie takes disbelief, which should certainly be present, and suspends it for you, in a most amusing way. The film may well attempt to say something deep about human nature, and the interaction between a fickle heart which has lots of love to give and a bored brain with so many thoughts - but it doesn't say it so loud that you can't just sit back and enjoy the picture. Some scenes are funny to all; some scenes may cause you to be the only hysterical person in the theater. In any case, it's well worth the ticket or rental cost. Some male nudity is present, though no more than the average British movie containing male nudity. No sex scenes are overly graphic, though one should definitely have an open mind going into the movie in order to enjoy it. If you didn't feel a significant need to leave the theater during "Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes," which I was last week, you should be able to thoroughly enjoy this film.(Lighting designers watch for the Kabuki scene; it won awards in Europe and definitely looks very cool.)
This newest film, from Peter Greenaway, is strangely dull. I felt like there was more action in my wallpaper than what was in the movie. The visuals were pretty astounding though, and the movie was framed well. The atmosphere was like that of a Flemish painting, and the acting was surprisingly good, but you're left feeling like, "what the heck did I watch this movie for?" Usually, if you can see an actor's eye boogers, the camera is too close. Also, seeing the old men's areas was a bit much, but watching beautiful nude women doing tai-chi on men was very interesting. Still, the movie kind of bites. Rating: 7/10( The women had neat shapes)
Fans of Peter Greenaway will not be disappointed. This film seems to be following an on-going trend of a creating more subtle approach to subjects of sexualities. If Greenaway is maturing, it's by leaving even more unsaid about the various subjects he chooses for study. This may result in works which are even more inaccessible than previous works like "The Cook..." and "Prospero's Books". Patience is the key with Greenaway, and this film certainly demands it.
