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Memoirs of a Geisha
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Starring: Ziyi Zhang
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 145
min.
Release Date:
December 2005
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Sometimes films are
excellent. Sometimes they exceed our expectations. And sometimes — just
sometimes — they transcend all of that and turn into something more;
they become a work of art.
Such is the case with MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA directed by Rob Marshall
(CHICAGO, 2002). Based on Arthur Golden's best-selling novel of the same
name, this movie goes beyond cinema and transports you to another time
and country.
The film begins on the shores of pre-WWII Japan in a tiny fishing
village where a mother lay dying. Two daughters peer between wood slats
at their father as he speaks to an ominous looking man in a nice suit.
Chiyo (an amazing Suzuka Ohgo) and her older sister are soon ripped away
from their family and forced into a world of servitude. Chiyo's older
sister is lost to houses of ill-repute, while Chiyo is pulled into a
strange yet beautiful home run by a demanding "mother" and "auntie."
Chiyo has entered the realm of the Geisha.
Being a pretty young girl with blue eyes, Chiyo is selected to go to
Geisha school. But bad blood is brewing in Chiyo's new home. A beautiful
Geisha already lives there and quickly becomes jealous of Chiyo.
Terrible threats and beatings ensue, and one lonely day, while Chiyo is
on a bridge overlooking a river, a handsome man approaches (Ken
Watanabe, THE LAST SAMURAI) with kind words and gives her some sweet
ice. They chat and Chiyo is immediately enamored with him. She now has a
goal. She will become the best Geisha ever so that they might meet
again.
As Chiyo grows and becomes more and more beautiful and wanted, the house
she lives in is ready to ignite. Now fully Geisha and fully grown (Ziyi
Zhang, RUSH HOUR 2), she is bribed away from Mama-san and moves in with Mameha (Michelle Yoeh,
THE TOUCH) who teaches her the true nature of
Geisha.
World War II, other men, jealous Geisha, and years of isolation block
Chiyo's plans to meet up with her first love. But through perseverance,
prayer, and trust, Chiyo's wishes cannot be denied.
This film is, as stated earlier, a piece of art. Every frame, every
image, is carefully crafted, taking into consideration light, color,
imagery, facial features, the times, and a multitude of other items I
can't even begin to explain nor understand.
The initial dark lighting of the film was an excellent way to start,
giving us a feel for those sullen times, and also letting us know that
this part of the narrators memory was fuzzy and long ago. But as the
film progresses, we see brighter colors and light. By the time the film
wraps up, the colors are so wondrous you feel like you could eat the
screen or, at the very least, reach out and pluck this flower or that.
There's been a lot of commentary about the use of Chinese actors and
actresses in prime roles rather than Japanese. This is undeniably so.
But it didn't detract from my enjoyment of it (have we become so
self-righteous that we can't have other races playing in such roles?
Does anyone remember Marlon Brando in TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON?)
Could the production crew have tried harder to put a Japanese native in
one of those positions? Probably. But this film is so sumptuous, I
didn't even notice the differences (no disrespect meant to anyone
Japanese.)
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Image from Memoirs of a
Geisha
DVD cost: $17.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite?
Yes.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The filmmakers decided
that the Gion district of modern-day Kyoto (the Geisha district where
Arthur Golden's novel is set) looked much too modern to evoke the 1920s
and 30s. So, a large set of the Gion district was constructed outside of
Los Angeles in Thousand Oaks, California. The detailed set had real
cobblestone streets, bridges, a river, period buildings and antique
props which evoked the period described in the novel.
Movie Quote: "Your
family sold you to this house. You live here now."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Memoirs of a Geisha
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