Memoirs of a geisha (2005)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/
Director: Rob Marshall / Script: Robin Swicord, Arthur Golden (novel)
Runtime: 145min
Cast: Ziyi Zhang, Li Gong, Ken Watanabe
Genre: Drama / Romance


   This exceptional movie is based on Arthur Golden’s eponymous novel; it is an impressive epic about a fisherman’s daughter overcoming a set of hardships in order to become a successful geisha. Although the book was written by an American author, it provides puzzling details about the Japanese culture and the controversial lives of geishas. The movie is a faithful representation of these.

   The whole atmosphere is minutely recreated, alongside wonderful, breathtaking sceneries and a dramatic soundtrack. It is a portrait of exotic places, gestures, lifestyles and accent; the visual imagery being prominent, just like in the book. The whole movie is shaped by the delicacy, sensuality of the geishas parading in over 250 hand-tailored kimonos. However, it has received criticism, that Chinese actresses portrayed Japanese geishas, but personally, I haven’t even noticed it. What did surprise me, was having read that the leading actresses didn’t even know English at the time of the filming. The heroine is Sayuri, who with her unusual blue eyes has a special effect on men, but she loves only one man during her whole life: the man whom she meets as a mere child, and whose attention she struggles for by becoming a geisha. And the path of becoming a successful geisha is filled with intricacies and rather interesting stuff for Western mindsets. It sort of appeals to the emotions and the empathy of the viewer and also presents many interesting and unknown facts about a geisha’s life. It amazed and kind of filled me with regret that there has once been such a time when the simple glimpse of a woman’s wrist or the sight of the back of her neck could arouse interest in men. Good old times?

   I’m sure many of you have a preconceived idea about what a geisha is (some professional prostitute?). Well, be prepared to have that considerably altered after watching this movie. It’s rather slow-paced, even the dialogues are rather rugged, but I must say it is worth it!