Peter Greenaway has been influenced primarily by the paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. His films, including this one, contrast sexual pleasure and painful death which we see in Nagiko's carnal desire for pleasure inclusive of being written upon with calligraphy, and eventually the death of Jerome along with her father and the corruption of her husband. The film reveals the blending of two cultures in Jerome being a British translator and Nagiko from Japan and living in Hong Kong.
Greenaway's film while loaded with sensuality reveals the reality that death becomes the primary gate these characters flock through. Jerome's choice to gain Nagiko back by attempting suicide reveals the harsh reality that these characters are deeply flawed in their understanding of what makes a healthy relationship. What has been created from their actions is a desire to never be hurt, they distance themselves from who they truly are by playing into their carnal desires. This leads to the corruption of their reality, one where they have gotten what they wanted in life by playing into their carnal desires. This is scene clearly in the character of the Publisher who has inflicted pain on person after person with his blackmailing them for sexual favors. He's pierced the fragile souls of the human being with his lustful and corrupted power he wields in the form of publishing. All of this to satisfy his sexual cravings. And while he is satiated, he leaves a trail of brokenness through generations.
In the end, Greenaway reveals that the road to death and darkness of the soul is through relying solely upon satisfying our carnal selves. When we do so, the reality in which we live is far from one that allows our fullness to be born upon the earth. Instead we wilt away like a flower without water and sun. We become barren and host only a need to please which leads in one direction.
