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Memoirs of a Geisha [2005]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Chicago director Rob Marshall's pretty but empty (or pretty empty) film has all the elements of an Oscar contender: solid adaptation (from Arthur Golden's bestseller), beautiful locale, good acting, lush cinematography. But there's something missing at the heart, which leaves the viewer sucked in, then left completely detached from what's going on.

It's hard to find fault with the fascinating story, which traces a young girl's determination to free herself from the imprisonment of scullery maid to geisha, then from the imprisonment of geisha to a woman allowed to love. Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo), a young girl with curious blue eyes, is sold to a geisha house and doomed to pay off her debt as a cleaning girl until a stranger named The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) shows her kindness. She is inspired to work hard and become a geisha in order to be near the Chairman, with whom she has fallen in love. An experienced geisha (Michelle Yeoh) chooses to adopt her as an apprentice and to use as a pawn against her rival, the wicked, legendary Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo (played as an older woman by Ziyi Zhang), now renamed Sayuri, becomes the talk of the town, but as her path crosses again and again with the Chairman's, she finds the closer she gets to him the further away he seems. Her newfound "freedom" turns out to be trapping, as men are allowed to bid on everything from her time to her virginity.

Some controversy swirled around casting Chinese actresses in the three main Japanese roles, but Zhang, Yeoh and Gong in particular ably prove they're the best for the part. It's admirable that all the actors attempted to speak Japanese-accented English, but some of the dialogue will still prove difficult to understand; perhaps it contributes to some of the emotion feeling stilted. Geisha has all the ingredients of a sweeping, heartbreaking epic and follows the recipe to a T, but in the end it's all dressed up with no place to go.--Ellen A. Kim


Truly Beautiful
Review date: 2008-11-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

I just watched this DVD for the first time and it is truly spellbinding! I would recommend it to anyway. I really think it is the kind of film which everyone should watch in their life. It is shot in such classically beautiful manner, the story, the actors, the cinematography, music and costume design all collate together to make it a real moving piece of art!

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Reviews


Visually stunning
Review date: 2008-07-13 Rating: 8 out of 10

I loved Arthur Golden's novel `Memoirs of a Geisha' and tried to keep an open-mind about the film version. Although the film wasn't as `magical' as the novel, I thought it stood rather well.

"Memoirs of a Geisha" on screen, in my opinion, did capture some aspects of the novel. I thought the scenery (especially of the Japanese market) was well portrayed.

Although the film is visually stunning, I felt that it could have been made more authentic by if it had more Japanese actors and people speaking in Japanes; most of the actors in the film appeared to be Chinese (I guess a lot of people wouldn't pick up on that) and the film was in English.

It's difficult to relate the life of Sayuri/ Chiyo (Ziyi Zhang) in detail, but the film made a good attempt of showing how she lived and making the audience feel compassion towards her.

The story captures the life of Chiyo, a grey-eyed Japanese girl, who along with her sister, is sold by her parents as a result of poverty. Upon arrival at a Geisha house, the sisters are separated and Chiyo succumbs to her new role as a servant for the dominating Mother.

Hatsumomo (Gong Li) the Geisha of the house, develops a dislike for Chiyo and begins to make life difficult for her. Soon Chiyo starts attending Geisha school. Unfortunate circumstances at the house end in her punishment, as a result she will be banned from attending the school.

One day, she meets the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) who extends her a kindness that she will never forget. When Chiyo grows up, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), a leading Geisha, trains her so that Chiyo, with her unusual eyes, can become the most desired Geisha.


a beautiful film
Review date: 2008-03-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

The story is compelling, the cinematography is gorgeous and I must mention the music score by John Williams. Perleman is solo violin playing "Sayuri" the heroine and Yo Yo Ma is solo cello representing the "Chairman". It helps that the mainly all female cast are wonderful actors. The main characters of Sayuri, Mamaha and Hatsumonno are extraordinarily beautiful. They are chinese rather than japanese which apparently did cause some controversy. They speak a strongly accented english which may sound contrived but for me it works really well. The extras on the dvd are very interesting, especially the commentary.

Disappointing
Review date: 2007-10-31 Rating: 4 out of 10

Memoirs of a Geisha is a great book; a really great, pacey, enchanting, engaging book. I can't recommend the book enough. The film however tries so hard and ends up disappointing.

As you would expect from the novel, it is beautifully shot, with fantastic costumes and vibrant use of colour. The dance sequences are visually stunning, the landscapes sumptious, but this somehow never quite makes up for the lack of credibility in the film's core. What is pacey and hard to put down in the novel is rendered weighty and leaden in this 2 hours plus film. What is emotionally engaging in the novel's interior monologue is largely lost. One of the extras on the DVD shows the screenwriter talking about the central story of "being the best person you can be", living your dream, but this is a story of a girl sold into slavery, sold into the geisha profession and I felt that this misconception of the screenwriter was very apparent in the film.

Additionally, there is the irritation that the three lead characters, the three key geishas representing the epitome of japanese grace and beauty are all Chinese. And they all look Chinese and this detracts from the film's core credibility. Was there really not a single Japanese actress who could have played Sayuri? Look at pictures of geisha and then come back and look at the cast - it's an opportunity missed and surely cultural arrogance on the part of the West to just pick famous Chinese actresses and think it's all the same because they are Asian.

That aside, the acting is good and aside from a few glitches suitably understated. However, the dialogue is in heavily accented English with regular smatterings of Japanese and at times it is hard to hear what some of the actresses in particular, are saying.

My advice would be to read the book, it deserved better than this.

One of my favourite books turned into film with stunning results
Review date: 2007-08-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

I became a fan of early Japanese literature after reading a fictional story about Lady Murasaki. After hunting for similar books, it was not long before I discovered Arthur Golden's MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, a contemporary novel about a young geisha during the time of the Second World War. I loved the book and so when I discovered that it was to be made into a film, I could not wait to see it. Of course, the problem when you love a book and then it is put to film, often you come away bitterly disappointed. Thankfully, with MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, I need not have worried.

Although there are changes between the film version and the book (something which is inevitable with any adaptation), they were not so big so as to take anything away from the film version. It really is beautifully shot - the attention to nature and to the colours of the geisha world are vividly brought to life. This may seem like a small thing, but actually it is very important. From the time of Murasaki herself, the Japanese have long held an importance over colour - geisha girls would wear kimono that had the appropriate colours for the partciular season, and in early times social rank would dictate what colours they were allowed to wear. And the attention to nature reflects the love of nature that the great poets of early time expressed.
For me, this film truly brought the novel to life, making me want to go back to the novel to devour it again, savouring Golden's fabulous writing.


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Michelle Yeoh
Ziyi Zhang
Koji Yakusho
Ken Watanabe
Gong Li

Creators:
Ziyi Zhang (Primary Contributor)
Ken Watanabe (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
EAN: 8717418083465
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-06-05
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 139 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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