8 ½ Women (1999)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Peter Greenaway

Writer:

Peter Greenaway (writer)

Release Date:

12 August 1999 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

If every man thinks of sex once every nine minutes, what does he think of the other eight?

Plot:

Following the death of the mother, a father and son open up a brothel in their Genevan estate after watching Fellini's "8 1/2".

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Death | Pig | Concubine | Brothel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Standing	...	Philip Emmenthal
Matthew Delamere	...	Storey Emmenthal
Vivian Wu	...	Kito
Annie Shizuka Inoh	...	Simato (as Shizuka Inoh)
Barbara Sarafian	...	Clothilde
Kirina Mano	...	Mio
Toni Collette	...	Griselda / Sister Concordia
Amanda Plummer	...	Beryl
Natacha Amal	...	Giaconda the Baby Factory
Manna Fujiwara	...	Giulietta / Half Woman
Polly Walker	...	Palmira
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Celeste, Emmenthal Maid
Myriam Muller	...	Marianne, Emmenthal Maid
Don Warrington	...	Simon
Claire Johnston	...	Amelia, Philip's Wife

Also Known As:

8 1/2 Women (UK) (alternative spelling)
8½ Women (UK) (alternative spelling)
Eight and a Half Women (UK) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue and pervasive nudity.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK | Netherlands | Luxembourg | Germany

Language:

English | Italian | Japanese | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R21 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) (cut) | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Ireland:18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Woodline Productions

Quotes:

Philip Emmenthal: When I was young I hated my body because it was so thin... now I try not to look at it too much because it's so old. There perhaps might have been just six months when I felt comfortable with it; when I discovered alcohol for the first time and learnt to drive and was fattening out and had just met your mother.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

Soundtrack:

Excerpt from 'Otello'

Greenaway Laughs!

Actually, Greenaway has nearly always been laughing. It's just that many people fail to notice that. "8 1/2 Women", however, is different in that even the people who hate it (of which there will be plenty; it's Greenaway) will have no doubts that it is a comedy, and Greenaway's lightest-toned film yet.

It is a playful tribute to Fellini and Godard, and it features - prominently - understanding, affection and warmth, none of which are emotions one would have easily associated with Greenaway's previous work. (In an after-screening interview, he commented that age makes one want to look more at the better side of things.) Because this is still very much a Peter Greenaway film, the ways in which emotions such as filial love are going to be explored are going to be very quirky indeed; but to interpret the film's "taboo" scene as intended to shock is a disservice to the film, the director's intentions (and his ability to *truly* shock when he wants to - check "The Baby of Macon") and your own enjoyment.

"8 1/2 Women" is full of odd little moments (and one SPECTACULARLY odd image which I won't spoil much, except to mention that it involves a pig, a Japanese Noh performer and a stunning Swiss villa) and offbeat humour; and it is about male bonding and male delusions about women. I can see how many people have taken the facile route of viewing it as misogynistic; these people have obviously not seen the same film as I have, which is all about control from behind the scenes, strategy, and the presentation of male supremacy for what it is - a fallacy.

"8 1/2 Women" was badly received at Cannes, got a tremendous backlash against it and died a death commercially. All of which is very unfair. If you like eccentric humour, give this film a chance. It's a little Wonderland of sorts and, in its own peculiar way, far more heartwarming than the average plastic Hollywood tear-jerker.