8 ½ Women
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55% Critic Match

8 ½ Women

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

5.5 / 10 1999 2h 1mR English
DramaComedy

Storyline

After his wife dies, middle-aged businessman Philip Emmenthal, at the prompting of his playboy son Storey, populates his Geneva villa with eight-and-a-half concubines. Three are from Kyoto, where Storey manages Pachinco palaces. Each has a distinctive personality: a nun, a child bearer, a gambler, a student of Kabuki, a horsewoman with a pet pig, a maid. As a year passes, the women begin asserting their own power.

Cast & Crew

John Standing

John Standing

Philip Emmenthal

Lead
Matthew Delamere

Matthew Delamere

Storey Emmenthal

Vivian Wu

Vivian Wu

Kito

Annie Shizuka Inoh

Annie Shizuka Inoh

Simato

Toni Collette

Toni Collette

Griselda

Claire Johnston

Claire Johnston

Amelia, Philip's Wife

Polly Walker

Polly Walker

Palmira

Amanda Plummer

Amanda Plummer

Beryl

What People Are Saying

3.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Peter Greenaway's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
3.0
Every frame feels alive. 8 ½ Women is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker