Plot
This film, based on the novel by Arthur Golden, unfolds from the perspective of Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi), a girl who, at the age of nine, is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto in the early 1930s. Here, she learns that becoming a geisha can be the single path to wealth and independence for a woman. The head geisha of her house, however, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), is bitterly jealous of Chiyo and abuses her at every opportunity. Eventually Chiyo is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), by far the most famous and successful geisha in their district. Under Mameha's tutelage, Chiyo becomes Sayuri, the most legendary geisha in the nation, skilled in all areas, from conversation to dance, and sought after by seemingly every man alive...except for the one whom she has secretly longed for since she began her training, The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) -- a man who showed her kindness at a time when her view of the world had turned the most bleak. Now as World War II approaches, Japan stands at the brink of a new era and Sayuri must confront the possibility that history will leave all that she has worked for behind. ~ Cammila Albertson, RoviReview
Beautiful but boring, Memoirs of a Geisha is worth watching once for the sake of its rich imagery alone. Unfortunately, without a well-paced narrative or particularly compelling story, its allure is only skin deep. While many literary adaptations suffer from a lack of focus and become chaotic in an attempt to include shallow bits from every vein and subplot in the book, Geisha succeeds in paring down its basic storyline into a fairly coherent and uncomplicated idea. Sadly, the filmmakers fail to provide insight into the inner life or emotional struggle of the main character, Saiyuri, and this is the element that would have given this story some meaning. The events of the film are clear enough and the audience is rarely confused about what is happening, but so is it rarely inspired to care. Despite some use of the protagonist's inner monologue, the audience is left too often on the outside of Saiyuri's most defining experiences: her climb to geisha stardom, her bitter rivalry with geisha Hatsumomo, and her intense love for a man known as The Chairman. Even when her virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder as a means to raise her notoriety, we aren't sure how she feels about this, if indeed she feels anything at all. The ornate sets and costumes depict pre and postwar Japan with glorious meticulousness and even the movements of the men and women of this time and place are all perfectly sculpted to the period. If only the external lives of its characters alone were enough, Memoirs of a Geisha would be a great film indeed. ~ Cammila Albertson, RoviCast
- Zhang Ziyi - Sayuri
- Ken Watanabe - The Chairman
- Michelle Yeoh - Mameha
- Koji Yakusho - Nobu
- Youki Kudoh - Pumpkin
Credit
Patrick M. Sullivan, Jr. - Art Director, Tomas Voth - Supervising Art Director, Francine Maisler - Casting, John DeLuca - Choreography, Liza Dalby - Consultant/advisor, John DeLuca - Co-producer, Colleen Atwood - Costume Designer, Eric N. Neffron - First Assistant Director, Rob Marshall - Director, John DeLuca - Second Unit Director, Pietro Scalia - Editor, Gary Barber - Executive Producer, Roger Birnbaum - Executive Producer, Patricia Whitcher - Executive Producer, Bobby Cohen - Executive Producer, Lyndell Quiyou - Hair Styles, John Williams - Composer (Music Score), Noriko Watanabe - Makeup, John Myhre - Production Designer, Dion Beebe - Cinematographer, Steven Spielberg - Producer, Doug Wick - Producer, Lucy Fisher - Producer, Jann K. Engel - Set Designer, Robert Fechtman - Set Designer, Maya Shimoguchi - Set Designer, Lois G. Hoyos - Set Designer, Richard Romig - Set Designer, Rick Kline - Sound Mixer, Kevin O'Connell - Sound Mixer, Greg P. Russell - Sound Mixer, John Pritchett - Sound/Sound Designer, Robin Swicord - Screenwriter, Sion Michel - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Robert Stromberg - Visual Effects Supervisor, Masakazu Yoshizawa - Musical Performer, Wylie Stateman - Supervising Sound Editor, Digital Backlot - Visual Effects, Gretchen Rau - Set Decorator, Arthur Golden - Book Author| Memoirs of a Fairy Godmother (1982 Film), Memoirs of Prison (1984 Film) | |
| Memoirs of a Lady Ninja (2009 Film), Memoirs of a Lady Ninja 2 (2011 Film) |
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