Arthur Golden's famous tale from 1997, "Memoirs of a Geisha" was one of these films that everyone wanted to get made, but for one reason or another it took forever to finally find someone who actually wanted to sit on the director's chair. For a long time Steven Spielberg was pegged as the one to bring the novel to the screen, but now Rob Marshall from the "surprise" Best Picture Oscar winner "Chicago" is the one who can take the credit for this masterpiece of a film.
The young girl Chiyo and her sister are sold by their father to a geisha house, but they are soon separated and Chiyo begins her training as a geisha. Soon though she catches the eye of Hatsumomo, the vain head geisha, who is mostly responsible for the financial well-being of the house, and is forced by her to destroy the kimono of one of the most respected geishas in the city, Mameha. Because of this and her falling off the roof when she tries to escape, the mother of the house decides to make Chiyo a mere servant girl until she has paid off her debt. One day, Chiyo meets a handsome and charming man, who buys her a cup of sweet ice, and from that moment on she is in love with him and tries to everything to win his heart, such as to become a true geisha. Years later, Mameha decides to adopt Chiyo as an apprentice and she can finally fulfill her dream of becoming a geisha and to reunite with the chairman she desires above everything else.
Cynics will say that this is just a feminist propaganda film for women, but it really is a stunning and powerful film about women, or rather their strength and determination in a culture and profession that is quite different than the view Western countries often seem to have of it. Geishas were dancers, artists and mistresses, who satisfied their customers through their skills, and not their bodies, selling themselves away like common prostitutes. It's amazing to see how being a geisha is really about learning self-discipline and control of ones body, and essentially that is the process Chiyo, or Sayuri as she is later called, goes through in this wonderful, exotic and moving film. I was interested in the psychology and personality of every single character, particularly Sayuri and Hatsumomo, who almost redefine the word "catfight" in this film, through the game of intrigues, betrayal and lies they play with each other. Hatsumomo is the villain of this movie, yes, but when she is on screen for the last time I really did feel sorry for her, because despite her arrogance and rotten character, she was capable of love and was denied her feelings by the boundaries and limitations of the life she swore herself to. On the other hand, the geishas are shown to be true artists and athletes, who have to have complete dominance of their posture, their moves and their timing. The most beautiful scene in this movie, which will most likely cause everyone to get goose bumps, is when Sayuri goes through her training to become a geisha and the sensitive, but emotionally gripping score by John Williams is heard, particularly when she receives the task of captivating a man through one single glance. Whether the film was perfectly historically accurate in its portrayal of the hardships the geishas face, is something I don't know much about, and that's probably a good thing as it would have destroyed the haunting spell of the movie. The film is truly beautiful in its production design and the gorgeous cinematography and is just as much a work of art for the eye as it is for the heart. Rob Marshall really managed to hit the right tone and doesn't make "Memoirs of a Geisha" overly sentimental, but created an intimate love story, where Sayuri always wants to follow her heart and her desire to become a geisha, and ultimately realize that she cannot have both.
The film also features the who's who of Asian actresses, starting with the pretty Ziyi Zhang, who gives a haunting and mesmerizing performance as Sayuri, especially when she performs her art of dancing and charming men. Her eyes are captivating and she has exactly the right aura to play such a role, and nobody except the Japanese will say something about her being Chinese in reality. The same goes for Michelle Yeoh, who has a hypnotic presence as Sayuri's master Mameha, and especially the stunning Gong Li, who is perfect as the seemingly cold-hearted and spoiled, but really desperate Hatsumomo. Ken Watanabe, who already showed his powerful screen aura in "Last Samurai" plays a much more low-key character this time, but he has charisma and kindness written all over him.
"Memoirs of a Geisha" does not deserve its reputation as a film that only lives from its visuals and production achievements, although those are indeed the strongest point of the film. It tells a passionate and moving love story, involves a lot of cultural history, and is so beautifully photographed and scored that it becomes a grand cinematic adventure, that will apply to both genders and every person who wants to be reminded of the great class of movies.
The young girl Chiyo and her sister are sold by their father to a geisha house, but they are soon separated and Chiyo begins her training as a geisha. Soon though she catches the eye of Hatsumomo, the vain head geisha, who is mostly responsible for the financial well-being of the house, and is forced by her to destroy the kimono of one of the most respected geishas in the city, Mameha. Because of this and her falling off the roof when she tries to escape, the mother of the house decides to make Chiyo a mere servant girl until she has paid off her debt. One day, Chiyo meets a handsome and charming man, who buys her a cup of sweet ice, and from that moment on she is in love with him and tries to everything to win his heart, such as to become a true geisha. Years later, Mameha decides to adopt Chiyo as an apprentice and she can finally fulfill her dream of becoming a geisha and to reunite with the chairman she desires above everything else.
Cynics will say that this is just a feminist propaganda film for women, but it really is a stunning and powerful film about women, or rather their strength and determination in a culture and profession that is quite different than the view Western countries often seem to have of it. Geishas were dancers, artists and mistresses, who satisfied their customers through their skills, and not their bodies, selling themselves away like common prostitutes. It's amazing to see how being a geisha is really about learning self-discipline and control of ones body, and essentially that is the process Chiyo, or Sayuri as she is later called, goes through in this wonderful, exotic and moving film. I was interested in the psychology and personality of every single character, particularly Sayuri and Hatsumomo, who almost redefine the word "catfight" in this film, through the game of intrigues, betrayal and lies they play with each other. Hatsumomo is the villain of this movie, yes, but when she is on screen for the last time I really did feel sorry for her, because despite her arrogance and rotten character, she was capable of love and was denied her feelings by the boundaries and limitations of the life she swore herself to. On the other hand, the geishas are shown to be true artists and athletes, who have to have complete dominance of their posture, their moves and their timing. The most beautiful scene in this movie, which will most likely cause everyone to get goose bumps, is when Sayuri goes through her training to become a geisha and the sensitive, but emotionally gripping score by John Williams is heard, particularly when she receives the task of captivating a man through one single glance. Whether the film was perfectly historically accurate in its portrayal of the hardships the geishas face, is something I don't know much about, and that's probably a good thing as it would have destroyed the haunting spell of the movie. The film is truly beautiful in its production design and the gorgeous cinematography and is just as much a work of art for the eye as it is for the heart. Rob Marshall really managed to hit the right tone and doesn't make "Memoirs of a Geisha" overly sentimental, but created an intimate love story, where Sayuri always wants to follow her heart and her desire to become a geisha, and ultimately realize that she cannot have both.
The film also features the who's who of Asian actresses, starting with the pretty Ziyi Zhang, who gives a haunting and mesmerizing performance as Sayuri, especially when she performs her art of dancing and charming men. Her eyes are captivating and she has exactly the right aura to play such a role, and nobody except the Japanese will say something about her being Chinese in reality. The same goes for Michelle Yeoh, who has a hypnotic presence as Sayuri's master Mameha, and especially the stunning Gong Li, who is perfect as the seemingly cold-hearted and spoiled, but really desperate Hatsumomo. Ken Watanabe, who already showed his powerful screen aura in "Last Samurai" plays a much more low-key character this time, but he has charisma and kindness written all over him.
"Memoirs of a Geisha" does not deserve its reputation as a film that only lives from its visuals and production achievements, although those are indeed the strongest point of the film. It tells a passionate and moving love story, involves a lot of cultural history, and is so beautifully photographed and scored that it becomes a grand cinematic adventure, that will apply to both genders and every person who wants to be reminded of the great class of movies.