Eight and a Half Women

Synopsis

Eight and a Half Women is a laconic black comedy, an examination of the age-old phenomenon of male sexual fantasy, its roots and its consequences. A quiet rich Swiss businessman, whose wealth comes from the many Japanese pachinko parlours he owns, lives in Geneva. His son lives in Kyoto, and is fascinated by earthquakes. When the father's much-loved wife dies, the son tries hard to help his father overcome his grief by introducing him to, among other things, Fellini films, awakening in him a new desire for women. To accommodate this, the two of them create their own domestic bordello with women they rescue from pachinko parlour gambling debts and other situations of shady finance around Europe. The film tells the story of the brothel, and its eight and a half women, that lasts three years before being broken up and finally destroyed in an earthquake.

Details

Year

1999

Type of film

Features

Format

35mm

Director

Peter Greenaway

Producer

Denis Wigman, Terry Glinwood, Bob Hubar

Director of Photography

Sacha Vierny

Principal Cast

Polly Walker, Amanda Plummer, Vivian Wu, Toni Collette

Executive Screen Writer

Peter Greenaway

Genre

Production status

Complete

Please let us know if we need to make any amendments to this Film entry mailing us directly at

Last updated 26th November 2005