Memoirs of a Geisha Movie Review:


“Memoirs of a Geisha” turned out to be exactly what I thought it would be, which is precisely why it's so disappointing. The film emerges as a distinctly Western take on Eastern melodrama, where Japanese characters played by Chinese people speak English in thick accents; where shots of the Japanese locales of the 20th century's first half are fetishized as beauty worthy of the word exotic; where the women are only as desirable as they are mysterious. In other words, it is not Asian -- it's Oriental.

Had this story been set in the present day, it would've been unthinkable, but the film deflects this angle of criticism by taking place in an idealized past. And, as always, Hollywood excels at idealizing the past. The movie's style could quite possibly pass as "Classic Hollywood," with its tale of a simple melodrama based on the determination of a woman society attempts to bring down over and over again. The emphasis here is in setting up an easy-to-follow story about repressed love and surrounding it with beautiful technical work -- lush music, picture perfect cinematography, great costumes -- and actors of international appeal and acclaim.

That shell of an idea has potential, but to apply it to such a story -- and the logistical challenges it presents -- seems unwise. I haven't read the popular novel on which the movie is based, but just from seeing the movie I would've advised against mounting such a project. For instance, take the issue of assembling a non-English-speaking mixed Asian cast and having them all speak in a manner Americans can understand without subtitles. The actors range from Chinese of different worldly origins (Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh) to Japanese (Ken Watanabe, Youki Kudoh, Kôji Yakusho), all with clashing accents and various levels of proficiency in English. The filmmakers decided that the characters should have a uniform accent, which is a monumental task to achieve -- not only must the actors learn English, they must learn it in a specific, unnatural way. And the dialogue itself emphasizes the sounds of this accent.

As a result, lines sound stilted; they're awkwardly formal and sometimes grammatically short cut to accommodate a sound that people who aren't used to seeing Asians might associate with Asians. If so much time was taken to teach the cast a uniform version of English, why not try your best to have the actors speak in proper English? Is it because "You are to become geisha!" sounds naturally more Eastern than "You are to become a geisha," or even "You will become a geisha"? I don't think there would've been any suitable solution because the undertaking itself is impractical. I feel for the actors, but they end up speaking in a manner so clumsy and dense that my own Chinese parents would have a terrible time understanding them.

But that's just a branch issue in how this movie is a bad idea. The main problem stems from the trunk of the concept -- that the film would be an Eastern movie made to resemble the most unchallenging Western ideal of what the East is. It's all too appropriate that the heroine, Sayuri (Zhang), is deemed unique because she has blue eyes -- a Western standard of beauty. She and her kimono and demure disposition and cherry blossoms that fall around her as she walks on the quaint little wooden bridge precisely communicate a comfortable fantasy that, frankly, even Westernized Asians would buy. It's a soothing force that reinforces old, outdated perceptions of Japan at a time when we simply don't need more of these reinforcements. It's Japanland, the newest attraction at Disneyland.

Equally as soothing is its story, a simplistic tale of repressed love that carries some redeeming value by focusing on how women who live in a society that treats them as second-class citizens and sex objects manage to use what tools they have to manipulate themselves into higher positions in society. Frankly, any woman can relate to this. But even with the self-conscious production design and the female issues focus, Douglas Sirk this is not. The characters are two-dimensional and the movie spends a lot of time pitting the women against each other, so that they're like combatants waiting to scratch each other's eyes out.

Seeing some of my favorite actresses in this movie gave me very mixed emotions. Ziyi Zhang is normally a firecracker, but here she's not only held back by her victimized character but also hamstrung by having to act in English. Michelle Yeoh, likewise, is held back by the formality of her reserved character. Only Gong Li has some space; as the evil (there is no other word to use, really) Hatsumomo, she gets to be mean and emotional, but her character isn't given much range. I never got the feeling that she was a human being first, plot driver second. And as much as I love these women, I still pause at the thought of having them play Japanese women over some potentially talented, deserving Japanese actresses.

Do I hate this movie? No, I can't say that I do -- its enforcement of the outdated ideal of the Orient will be tempered a bit by the time setting and perhaps more by its overt Hollywood feel; that is, it doesn't seem real in the least, so it's easy to recognize it as simply a glossy studio production. And it does give more Western exposure to talented people who deserve it -- Zhang, Gong, Yeoh, Watanabe, and others. No such thing as bad publicity, right? It's not what I was hoping for, but it could have been worse than what I expected, which wasn't much in the first place. From that point of view, “Memoirs of a Geisha” amounts to no more than a trifle.

Jeffrey Chen

Based on the renowned bestseller, Memoirs of a Geisha chronicles the career of Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang), a young woman who as a child is sold into the geisha profession in 1929. Her strength rises as she ascends to become the most beautiful geisha in all Japan.

Along the way, Sayuri falls in love with a wealthy businessman called The Chairman (Ken Watanabe), adopts a mentor (Michelle Yeoh) and faces off against her rival (Gong Li).

“Memoirs of a Geisha” opening sequences made it hard to get into the film at first. The film was very clunky and off-kilter. When Ziyi Zhang takes over in the more adult role of the film’s central character, a majesty erupts. She is beautiful, captivating, strong and above all else relatable. Zhang glides through the role like a prominent geisha should. Then when she is complimented by Yeoh, the film really seems to find its footing, sort of. The soul of the film should have been about these two women but because it always dabbles in so many other subplots it loses it way quite quickly.

I have been told that the novel is written through the eyes of Sayuri and the film barely acknowledges that in the narration and that the story is completely hers. In the book, the yearning for the Chairman to love her must be a central theme but here in the film it is confusing. We never get the idea he loves her and it comes off as more of a school girl crush than something substantial. The love story between Sayuri and the Chairman is wasted and the whole subplot seems very convoluted.

It wasn’t only the love story that failed but the structure of most of the other subplots. Director Rob Marshall’s inexperience with a film of this size could be to blame for the lack of concrete sub-plots and strong character development. I think for this film to improve it needed to be a “cable mini-series” or have a strong epic director at the helm.

There is a lot to like about this film but probably its greatest fault is that it isn’t a strong epic. A story like this needed a stronger vision and a stronger director.



So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

Start by understanding that this isn't a factual rendition of Japanese history, then you can accept this film existing in a dream world as realistic as, say, Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. As such, it's a sumptuous fantasy with a gripping, emotional story.

Chiyo (Ohgo) is a 9-year-old sold by her parents to a Kyoto geisha house. Her unusual beauty sparks vicious jealousy. But as she grows up (now Zhang), she's taken under the wing of prominent geisha Mameha (Yeoh), renamed Sayuri and prepared to challenge her spiteful "sister" Hatsumomo (Gong) as top geisha. Meanwhile, Sayuri courts potential sponsors--an industrialist (Yakusho), a doctor (Kim), a general (Tsang)--while pining for a businessman (Watanabe) who was kind to her as a child.

Arthur Golden's novel blends firsthand accounts, rumours and Western storytelling, so it's not surprising that the filmmakers didn't feel bound by authenticity. They go for broke, recreating mid-20th century Kyoto as a Japanese fairyland gorgeously drenched in inky shadows and glowing lanterns. Colleen Atwood's costumes are fabulous, and she admits they're drastically stylised. The make-up is far more natural than any geisha would wear, while the dancing and music are about 60 years ahead of their time.

And most notably the filmmakers cast prominent Chinese actresses in the principal roles. Zhang, Yeoh and Gong are staggeringly good, but their physicality is notably different from the Japanese, and they're required to perform in (broken) English. Which makes no sense at all, if you think about it. The fact that they're strong enough to overcome this disadvantage speaks volumes about their skills. And they're beautifully supported by sensitive, interesting acting from the men and women around them.

As a director, Marshall tells the story exceptionally well. Sayuri's odyssey is deeply involving, and leads to a superb conclusion. Marshall revels in these characters, drawing out their sparky diva-like behaviour and the way their world crumbles around them with the arrival of WWII. So even if it's exaggerated and improbable on every level, the film still manages to grab our eye with its spectacular artistry, and our heart with its simple tale of yearning.

Rich Cline

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