i recently caught memoirs of a geisha on HBO, I was excited since I always wanted to read the book, and yet again, I never got around to doing it due to time constraints.
I watched the movie from start to finish. I was excited to watch Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh together again, they were great in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I also wanted to watch Ken Watanabe, I fell for him ever since I watched The Last Samurai, so elegant and regal. Watching him made me want to bow down whenever he is shown on the screen.
Anyway, back to the movie, the movie traced the life of Chiyo, a little blue-eyed Japanese girl who was sold to a geisha house when she was nine. Her older sister was no as lucky and was sold off to a whorehouse. I loved that the people in charge took time to consider little details like little Chiyo actually looked like grown up Chiyo, in fact they could’ve been real life sisters. (they were not. I checked). A series of unfortunate events prevented her from getting proper geisha training and became the house’s servant girl, much to the delight of Gong Li’s character. Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) then took Chiyo under her wings as her new protégé, and taught her everything she needs to know about being a geisha. Chiyo, motivated by her need to be near the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), was a very eager learner and soon blossomed into the most popular geisha in Japan. It was soon after that she found out how a geisha’s life really is, the sacrifices and sadness behind the glitz and glamour.
The movie very subtly educates the watcher as to what it really is to be a geisha. It stresses the point that geishas are in fact not celebrated prostitutes but living and moving works of art. It also shows how the virginity of a new geisha is to be granted to the highest bidder, in hopes of paying off her debts. The most popular geishas are “kept” by “patrons”, and they are considered lucky. These issues are tackled matter-of-factly in the movie. It is shown that this is how it was back then. They were sexual beings, to be bought only once, watched and appreciated but not to be touched, unless you are willing to be a “regular” then you are given some privileges other clients are not allowed to do. Hmmm… seems to be very similar to the P word…
The movie was set in picturesque Japan. I had a little problem in understanding their lines, they were delivered in English, but the actors don’t really enunciate very well, especially when they talk fast.
So what do I think? I liked it. Not really dreamily-floating-on-clouds-love-it, but still, I liked it. I’m always biased on movies with great settings, add to that wonderful actors… I just have a problem with the concept of true, inspiring, heart-wrenching love that will endure all pain and tears, only after spending a couple of minutes with the guy over some sweet ice. But that’s just me.
I watched the movie from start to finish. I was excited to watch Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh together again, they were great in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I also wanted to watch Ken Watanabe, I fell for him ever since I watched The Last Samurai, so elegant and regal. Watching him made me want to bow down whenever he is shown on the screen.
Anyway, back to the movie, the movie traced the life of Chiyo, a little blue-eyed Japanese girl who was sold to a geisha house when she was nine. Her older sister was no as lucky and was sold off to a whorehouse. I loved that the people in charge took time to consider little details like little Chiyo actually looked like grown up Chiyo, in fact they could’ve been real life sisters. (they were not. I checked). A series of unfortunate events prevented her from getting proper geisha training and became the house’s servant girl, much to the delight of Gong Li’s character. Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) then took Chiyo under her wings as her new protégé, and taught her everything she needs to know about being a geisha. Chiyo, motivated by her need to be near the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), was a very eager learner and soon blossomed into the most popular geisha in Japan. It was soon after that she found out how a geisha’s life really is, the sacrifices and sadness behind the glitz and glamour.
The movie very subtly educates the watcher as to what it really is to be a geisha. It stresses the point that geishas are in fact not celebrated prostitutes but living and moving works of art. It also shows how the virginity of a new geisha is to be granted to the highest bidder, in hopes of paying off her debts. The most popular geishas are “kept” by “patrons”, and they are considered lucky. These issues are tackled matter-of-factly in the movie. It is shown that this is how it was back then. They were sexual beings, to be bought only once, watched and appreciated but not to be touched, unless you are willing to be a “regular” then you are given some privileges other clients are not allowed to do. Hmmm… seems to be very similar to the P word…
The movie was set in picturesque Japan. I had a little problem in understanding their lines, they were delivered in English, but the actors don’t really enunciate very well, especially when they talk fast.
So what do I think? I liked it. Not really dreamily-floating-on-clouds-love-it, but still, I liked it. I’m always biased on movies with great settings, add to that wonderful actors… I just have a problem with the concept of true, inspiring, heart-wrenching love that will endure all pain and tears, only after spending a couple of minutes with the guy over some sweet ice. But that’s just me.
