Rating of
3/4
A Oriental Cinderella-type romance!
MovieAddict - wrote on 03/13/13
Some people think that a geisha is a "sophisticated prostitute". That is not true. As Memeha (Chiyo's mentor) says, "A geisha does not sell her body, but her talents." A geisha is actually an artist, and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art.
"It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for Geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret."
The film chronicles the story of nine year old Chiyo (later to become Sayuri portrayed by Ziyi Zhang), a young girl who is sold by her ailing parents to a geisha house in Japan run by a lady/madam referred to as Mother. Chiyo gets into one bit of trouble after another, aided by the popular Hatsumomo (Li Gong), who seemed freakishly at home with the role of making the girl's life a living hell. Because of this and her falling off the roof when she tried to escape, the mother of the house decides to make Chiyo a mere servant girl until she has paid off her debt.
But, one day when she has a brief, impromptu encounter with the 'Chairman' (Ken Watanabe), and sees the beautiful Geisha he’s with, she decides her life's mission is to be a geisha also and to serve the Chairman. She's initiated into the geisha world by Hatsumomo’s rival Mameha (Michelle Yeoh). Watching the growth of Sayuri into a woman, and a Geisha was interesting - especially as she secretly longed for The Chairman, but in Geisha world love is forbidden.
The costumes and sets are stunning, but the contrast between the pre-war world of the Geisha and the post-war Americanised corruption of that world is handles with colossal unsubtlety. Nevertheless like the typical female I found it dramatic, passionate and captivating. My favourite scene was Zhang Ziyi's wonderfully performed dance at a Kabuki tea house.
