Memoirs of a Geisha

The link to the youtube video. You can watch a full length of the movie: Memoirs of a Geisha

I don’t know how they managed to post a full-length of this movie-Memoires of a Geisha. I did go to a movie theater because I was so excited about this “Japanese” hollywood-style movie. This is a 2005 film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment and by Douglas Wick’s Red Wagon Productions. Rob Marshall directed this beautiful movie and the film was released in the United States in 2005 by Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures. (Wikipedia)

I have never read the original book, so I can’t really compare the movie with the book but I think the film was very good. The only problem that I have is how they used many Asian actors/actresses who failed to convey a subtle sense of Japaneseness. It’s just hard to explain exactly what these “Japanese” traits are but if you are from Japan, you would know what they are. 🙂

So the less you are familiar with Japanese culture, the more you would enjoy the movie..I would say. 🙂 But I hope that non-Japanese audiences enjoy in-depth reflection of the life of Sayuri, a beautiful Japanese geisha. Ziyi Zhang, famous Chinese actress gave a great performance and she actually was the only non-Japanese actor who managed to show a sense of subtle Japaneseness so I was very surprised.

The movie follows Chiyo who was sold to a geisha house as a little girl from the countryside. Chiyo grows to become one of the most legendary geisha in pre-war Japan. Chiyo learns from the early age that the only path to wealth is to becoming the most celebrated geisha. As Chiyo begins to captivate the eyes of wealthy business men, the head geisha of her geisha house becomes extremely jealous of her’s popularity and success as a geisha. Chiyo soon becomes Sayuri, the most legendary geisha in the country. Even though Sayuri has become the fantasy of every man, she secretly longed for the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) to notice her. Anyways I am not going to get into the details anymore. I definitely recommend this movie. I think it is one of the most beautiful movies with incredible visual effects..If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you should watch it. 🙂