Memoirs of a Geisha

December 25, 2005 - Rather than spending Christmas Day at home doing nothing, I suggested to my parents that perhaps we should go watch a movie that day. Initially, we were going to see "The Family Stone", starring Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker (family comedy on Christmas Day is always a good thing, isn't it?) but since "Memoirs of a Geisha" was being shown at our local cineplex, we thought we would check out, mainly because we've heard so much about it and my parents would actually know who's-who in the movie (I don't think they even know who Sarah Jessica Parker is!).

Memoirs of a Geisha was adapted from Arthur Golden's best-selling novel, which describes the life of a young girl sold by her father to a Geisha house in pre-World War II Japan. The girl, named Chiyo, was to work as an unpaid servant until she is deemed to be elegant enough to work as a Geisha. The house is run by a woman named Mother and the house's ruling Geisha, Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo quickly becomes friends with another servant girl, Pumpkin, and together, the two learn the art of flattering wealthy men. After a failed attempt to escape from the Geisha house though, Mother decides that Chiyo should be kept as a servant girl and withdraws her from Geisha classes.

On her way to run an errand, Chiyo meets the Chairman (Ken Watanabee) and falls in love with the much much older man. The encounter supposingly changes her life, as she is now more than ever to become a Geisha, so she could be by the Chairman's side...

Years pass and Chiyo continues to suffer in the hands of Mother and Hatsumomo. Then one day, Hatsumomo's biggest rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) decides to adopt Chiyo as her "younger sister", to help train Chiyo into a true Geisha. Why? so that Mameha can use the young girl to win control over Mother's Geisha House, who is expected to inherit the rein. Hatsumomo in return, decides to adopt Pumpkin as her student and the four ladies wage war against one another, complete with backstabbing, vicious rumour spreading, and even a cat-fight!

Chiyo is renamed Sayuri and quickly becomes the hottest Geisha in town. She meets the Chairman again (who has not aged one bit). World War II then intervenes and Sayuri/Chiyo's Geisha world comes crashing down...

The movie is not as bad as some critics might have you believe. It is one of most beautiful movies I have seen this year - the sets, the costumes are simply gorgeous. I can't believe they built the entire set in California. I also have no objection to having Chinese actresses playing Japanese characters - Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh are all fantastic actresses with more than enough beauty to pull of as great Geishas. The comment that it's "ethnically incorrect" to have Chinese actresses playing Japanese roles is absurd - American actresses play British characters all the time and nothing is ever said, same with Australian actresses (i.e. Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts) playing American characters. It's called ACTING - if they can pull off the role, which in this case all three actresses do, then what's wrong with that?

However, what I didn't like about the movie was that it felt so Americanized. The movie feels like a Japanese version of "Desperate Housewives" or "Days of Our Lives" - and it really makes you wonder if Rob Marshall, the director, purposely changed the authentic feel of traditional Geisha culture so that American audience won't get lost (hence the inclusion of the cat-fight scene). Also, I failed to see the love connection between Chiyo and the Chairman. Was it love at first sight or was she using him to move up the social ladder? and the Chairman - was Chiyo simply a tool for him to regain his financial success after World War II? Also, does anyone feel icky over how Chiyo, as a 9 year old girl, fell in love with this 30+ year old man? In terms of character development, I really didn't feel attach to the characters at all. I didn't really care about Chiyo/Sayuri - sure, I felt bad that she was sold to the Geisha house etc, but the movie did a poor job in making me care about her life...

Having said all that, I was told that the book is much better and much more powerful in telling the tale of Chiyo/Sayuri. The book is currently sitting on my bookshelf....

Interesting note:

On a recent visit to Tokyo to promote the film, Ziyi Zhang received a mysterious parcel and letter, revealed to have been sent by an elderly Japanese woman who had once worked as a geisha. In her letter, the woman stated that she had been touched by the trailer of the film and expected the movie to bring back fond memories for her and her friends. Inside the parcel were several exquisitely worked antique kimono. Zhang was moved to tears by the gesture and sent the woman an invitation to the film's Japanese premiere.

Interesting link:

Check out Mad TV's version of Memoirs of a Geisha - it's hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=_AQvqsZFgDY&search=mad%20tv