
118 minutes
5/22/1999
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.

John Standing
as Philip Emmenthal

Matthew Delamere
as Storey Emmenthal

Vivian Wu
as Kito

Annie Shizuka Inoh
as Simato

Toni Collette
as Griselda

Claire Johnston
as Amelia, Philip's Wife

Polly Walker
as Palmira

Amanda Plummer
as Beryl

Elizabeth Berrington
as Celeste

Don Warrington
as Simon

Kirina Mano
as Mio
Manna Fujiwara
as Giulietta/Half Woman

Natacha Amal
as Giaconda

Barbara Sarafian
as Clothilde
Ryota Tsuchiya
as Simato's Brother

Myriam Muller
as Marianne, Emmenthal Maid
Pol Hoffmann
as Mourner
Tony Kaye
as Mourner

Ann Overstall Comfort
as Mourner
Malcolm Turner
as Undertaker

Patrick Hastert
as Man in Street

Julian Nest
as First Man in Cinema
Ciaran Mulhern
as Second Man in Cinema
John Overstall
as Third Man in Cinema

Derek Kueter
as Debt Collector

Jules Werner
as Debt Collector

Sophie Langevin
as Debt Collector Woman
Denise Gregoire
as Sister Nun

Sascha Ley
as Nun
Bettina Scheuritzel
as Schwester Fatimah
Radica Vujicin
as Nun
Jill Mercedes
as Nun
Dean Harrington
as American Businessman
Noriyuki Konishi
as Korean Businessman
Jean-Gabriel Dupuy
as French Businessman
Stéphane Prevot
as French Businessman

Katsuya Kobayashi
as Simato's Father
Takumi Matsui
as Simato's Fiancé
Kiyosi Ishiguro
as Brother Fiancé

Hairi Katagiri
as Half Woman Companion
Yurika Sano
as Half Woman, 8 Years Old
Satomi Ando
as Half Woman, 10 Years Old

Sachiko Meguro
as Mio's Companion #1
Hisayuki Yoshioka
as Mio's Companion #2
Hanji Mishima
as Mio's Companion #3
Toyonosuke Fujima
as Kabuki Father
Kango Fujima
as Kabuki Son
Senyoichi Nishikawa
as Kabuki Son

Vladimir Bogachov
as Otello

Peter Greenaway
as (uncredited)