8 1/2 Women

1999 Comedy

From Peter Greenaway, one of Britain's most controversial directors, 8 1/2 Women is a laconic black comedy that examines the age-old phenomenon of male sexual fantasy, its roots and consequences. A rich businessman from Geneva acquires eight and a half pachinko parlors in Kyoto, Japan. They are run by his son who is fascinated by earthquakes. When the father's beloved wife dies, the son takes him to see Federico Fellini's film 8 1/2 to distract him from his grief and rekindle some interest in the opposite sex. Inspired by Fellini's vision, they bring eight and a half women from Japan and Europe and turn the father's Geneva mansion into a private harem. Amanda Plummer, Toni Collette, Polly Walker and Vivian Wu (the protagonist of Greenaway's previous film The Pillow Book), head the cast of this multi-layered film that failed to reach the degree of critical acclaim of Greenaway's previous works. more..

Director: Peter Greenaway

Starring: John Standing, Matthew Delamere, Vivian Wu, Annie Shizuka Inoh, Barbara Sarafian

 27 Reviews  1 Awards

Reviews

  • One possible approach to 8 1/2 Women, I think, is to view it as a slowed-down, mannered, tongue-in-cheek silent comedy, skewed by Greenaway's anger and desire to manipulate.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • A surreal comedy about sex that comes as close to charming as Greenaway ever gets.

    Bob Graham - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • This visually intricate fantasia combines his (Greenaway's) extraordinary cinematic imagination with a story and characters less compelling than those in his best works.

    David Sterritt - Christian Science Monitor

    19 January 2013

  • The problem with 8 1/2 Women isn't that what you see is what you get; it's that what you see is all you get.

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    19 January 2013

  • A nod to Fellini--and that "half" turns out to be a typically dark Greenaway twist. Yet this film, one of Greenaway's most amusing and accessible, actually arrives at moments of tenderness, even love, fleeting though they may be.

    Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Peter Greenaway

    Cannes Film Festival (1999)

     

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