MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

[moviegroupie]

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7389/geisha31im.jpg

In the years before World War II, a Japanese child is torn from her penniless family to work as a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri. Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man beyond her reach.
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Drama and Romance
Release Date: December 9th, 2005 (NY/LA/SF), December 16th, 2005 (limited), December 23rd, 2005 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature subject matter and some sexual content.
Distributors:
DreamWorks SKG, Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Co.:
Amblin Entertainment, Red Wagon Entertainment
Studios:
Columbia Pictures, DreamWorks SKG
Financiers:
Co-Financier: Spyglass Entertainment Group
Filming Locations:
Japan
Los Angeles, California, USA
Produced in: United States
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not really interested in this one to be honest. as lame as it may sound, i'm tired of asian cinema.

[Katsumoto]

Originally posted by moviegroupie
as lame as it may sound, i'm tired of asian cinema.
this seems like the farest thing from asian cinema, just seems like some oscar bait.

[daddiefatsacks]

i dont get it, they are in japan, and they speak english?

[KcMsterpce]

I don't care that the characters are speaking English. That doesn't bother me one bit.

Memoirs of a Geisha is one of the best books I've ever read. Rob Marshall has a great directorial eye. Just watch Chicago and tell me it doesn't LOOK wonderful. There are a few problems with this movie before you even see it. First, the book is extremely intricate in detail and storytelling. It would be very difficult to translate onscreen and still evoke the same emotions that one gets while reading it. Second, this movie hires CHINESE ACTORS to play not just Japanese characters in a Japanese story... but they are the FUCKING LEADS! This is absolute bullshit, and a major strike goes to the makers for this bad, name-dropping-for-the-box-office-receipts faux-pas. Already, it seems this movie is doomed.

[TylerDurden182]

The trailer does nothing for me. I doubt I will see it in theatres. Also, I didn't really care for Chicago.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Originally posted by KcMsterpce
Second, this movie hires CHINESE ACTORS to play not just Japanese characters in a Japanese story... but they are the FUCKING LEADS! This is absolute bullshit, and a major strike goes to the makers for this bad, name-dropping-for-the-box-office-receipts faux-pas.

That's definitely not politically correct...as for the English, I hope it's not the kind of "broken English spoken by Asians" that you encounter in some movies.

I do hope to see it, eventually.

[Joshmo]

The cut for the trailer has really wetted my appetite for this one!

Some of the imagry looks like a painting brought to life!

Being a fan of the director and what he did with Chicago..which I LOVE! I have no doubt he will pull this off. Totally looking forward to this in the theater! And while I am a fan of foreign flicks and have no problem with subtitles, I am glad its in English cause I DO perfer to watch a movie rather than read it.

[Pigpen]

This is one of my favorite books, so I'll definitely see it.

[KcMsterpce]

I think it will be odd, seeing as how it's a JAPANESE story with Chinese actors, speaking English.
To top it off, Zhang Ziyi has only been speaking English for a couple years now, so it will be even FUNNIER hearing a Chinese actor playing a Japanese character... speaking English with a Chinese accent! Moreover, the CHILD version of her character is a Japanese actress. Ooh, Hollywood! Gotta love it!

[arto_j]

The trailer for this looked fucking fantastic...until they started talking.

Whoever decided to shoot this thing in English should be shot.

[jaw2929]

I'll definately be checking this out... I'm a big fan of Asian cinema :D

[screamer581]

The reviews have been less than stellar, and the trailers haven't impressed me in the slightest. I'll pass.


P.s. Ziyi Zhang is beyond beautiful.

[ilovemovies]

I'm kinda surprised by all the negativity. I always thought it looked great.

[Kucha]

Im interested in seeing this, it looks well done and Im a fan of Rob Marshall.

[lunatic]

Asian cinema? That's Hollywood, people. Asian cinema is made in ASIA by ASIAN folks.
And PG-13?
No thanks.

[KcMsterpce]

I think the Chinese actors playing the principal leads in a Japanese story is retarded, but that wouldn't dissuade me from seeing the movie.

My main complaint is having already read the book. It would be REALLY REALLY tough to make the movie close to as good as the book, because the material is meticulous, and the conclusion only works because of the extremely good writing.
I'm not saying the movie can't work, but pulling off a movie half as good as the book will be very tough. The casting choices are the first big, huge, ginormous strike against them.

I'm sure it will look fucking fantastic, but I really want the story brought to justice, screw the pretty colors and sets. I want the SUBSTANCE that comes from the book.

[ilovemovies]

When I said the movie looked great, I didn't just mean the visuals, although they certainly did look fantastic, but I also meant that the story looks pretty interesting.

James Berardinelli gave it 3 stars. Basically it was a good but not great review. Still, I have high hopes for the movie.

[arto_j]

A lot of critics who've seen it so far have been calling it a fashion show - outstanding visuals with zero content. If so it's pretty much exactly what I feared it could be at its worst.

[dman476]

Awful shite, AVOID this movie. No matter if you have any stint of doubt whether this film might be good. Forget it, the film was terrible, I love Chicago as a film, and this was just too much. Very poor English, and difficult to understand at times, mixed with an incoherent story and some great visuals make my grade come to a 5. The film's not even a friggin musical (thank God).

I regret going to see this, since I went to see it only because Syriana and Brokeback Mountain were SOLD OUT (BM was sold out full on these past three days, from Friday 12:20 PM to Sunday 11:10 AM - it's totally nuts).

[moviegroupie]

29% on Rotten Tomatoes

[dfd3657]

I agree with KcMsterpce here. I'm just about done with the book, and it's really intricate and detailed, so it's quite hard to turn into film. Anyway, I WAS excited about it at first. It LOOKS like a beautiful movie, but all the reviews have been pretty crappy, so it looks like I'm just going to wait for the DVD. I'm not done with the book yet, anyway. I'm saving my money for Wolf Creek and Hostel.

[Digifruitella]

should I really skip this?

[Digifruitella]

Originally posted by dfd3657
I'm saving my money for Wolf Creek and Hostel.

Oh snap, forgot that Wolf Creek comes out tomorrow!! Yeah definitely gonna skip Geisha now. Straight to Wolf Creek.

[agentsands]

I saw this movie today. I haven't read the book, but I'm going to, now. I really enjoyed the film, but I realize it's probably not for everyone. The theater was about 75% full and there was applause at the end.

[Digifruitella]

I regret picking Wolf Creek over this. I bet I will enjoy Memoirs, I plan on seeing it this weekend.

[Ares2907]

Normally I don't have a problem with actors of one nation playing people from another. I wouldn't have had a problem with zzy playing a Japanese girl if it hadn't been a movie that revolves around someone that is supposedly the quintessential japanese beauty. There is nothing zzy could ever possibly do to pass herself off as Japanese, which in (almost) any other movie is neither here nor there. But for this movie, it just doesn't work.
Not to mention the costumes are woefully inaccurate and probably a crapload of other things. This is one I shall pride myself on never watching.

[Badbird]

We're playing this at my theater and the over all response has been pretty bad. I'd say about 30% possitive, and 70% negative. A lot of people come out looking really grumpy. Lots of restlessness, people going to the bathroom thoughout the movie. Several walk outs.

The comment I hear the most is "The book was better."

[Fisting Ackbar]

SPOILERS















Didn't read the book so I can't comment on how much the movie didn't do it justice. The film seemed to boil down to the story of CINDERELLA with a hint of GREAT EXPECTATIONS at the end... but honestly, I kinda liked it.

It's definitely lush and gorgeous to look at, and while the film's central romance isn't worked out as well as the book may have done, you do feel for the longing Zhang has for Watanabe.

And yes, the English is bothersome because Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li aren't adept at it, though their facial expressions do make their performances worthwhile. I did think Gong Li's character was a bit evil at times just for the sake of being evil - they could have explored her character better other than just establishing her being envious and threatened by the new girl in the Geisha house.

So it's flawed overall, but I can think of many worse ways to spend two hours and twenty minutes than watching beautiful Chinese/Malaysian women.

7/10

[jaw2929]

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

Well after walking outta the abysmal fuckin so-called "comedy" that was Fun with Dick and Jane a coupla days ago, I decided to go see the movie I originally planned on seeing....

Memoirs of a Geisha was a damn good flick... Based off of a book, I'm not sure if it's real or fiction... The complaint about this movie, was that "Geisha's" are a Japanese historical thing, while Chinese actors played them and it was all done in English... Which by not having sub-titles and Japanese actors, it really limited (see: killed) it's authenticity....

All that aside, this movie should be Grammy material IMO... Just beautifully shot, and engaging story, and while a bit long it doesn't seem to drag in any parts at all... Ziyi does a great job in her role as the main girl who has a secret crush on Watanabe's character... She's thrust into the life of a Geisha, because Watanabe's character is not only a war general, but also a big player in Geisha circles, so she wants to become one to get closer to him...

She builds a small rivalry up with one of the other Geisha's, but eventually ends up becoming the Number 1 Geisha in her City... Soon World War 2 hits, and everything has changed... She finds refuge in a remote part of Japan where she bcomes a commoner, washing clothes, etc. while the War takes place... Without goin into too much detail, I'll leave it at that...

Looking back, this should be your typical chick flick with it's romance story and no action... I didn't expect it to be anything but... And I just absolutely loved it! Great acting on everyone's part, engaging storyline, beautifully shot with impressive sets... It was more a work of Asian Cinema Art than a "chick flick"... Having said that, if you're a big fan of Asian Cinema or movies with engaging plots, then I suggest you see this if at all possible, you shouldn't be disappointed! :D

[This&chips]

Originally posted by Fisting Ackbar
That's definitely not politically correct...as for the English, I hope it's not the kind of "broken English spoken by Asians" that you encounter in some movies.

I do hope to see it, eventually.

Yeah, I'd been warned and even so, I found the broken English to be quite distracting. Great movie overall though!

[Wurms]

Originally posted by KcMsterpce
I think it will be odd, seeing as how it's a JAPANESE story with Chinese actors, speaking English.
To top it off, Zhang Ziyi has only been speaking English for a couple years now, so it will be even FUNNIER hearing a Chinese actor playing a Japanese character... speaking English with a Chinese accent! Moreover, the CHILD version of her character is a Japanese actress. Ooh, Hollywood! Gotta love it!

Funny how people have a problem with Chinese playing Japanese speaking English when they should be speaking Japanese, but have no problem with an Irishman playing a German speaking English when they should be speaking German - Schindler's List.

If they did speak Japanese then everyone would be bitching about having to read subtitles.

[CreeperBEATNGU]

I had mixed feelings about it. I liked the conclusion, but I thought it dragged on a bit to get to it.
It's well written, acted, shot, and scored, and it was great to see Zhang Ziyi back onscreen in a leading role; though this isn't her best film, I enjoyed it overall.

The Chinese actors as Japanese characters didn't bother me, however having an almost entirely Asian cast in a film set in Asia speaking English wasn't the right way to go at all.
This should've been in Japanese with English subtitles.

[Snowboy]

Hey folks, just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in real quick. :)

This film was quite the surprise for me, despite treading "soap opera" territory. Visually, this film is gourgeous to look at, but it was Ziyi Zhang that drew me in deeper than I expected to go. She gives a wonderfully heartfelt and powerful performance as a young woman thrust into another life, being forced to give up the things she wants. I could simply look into her blue/gray eyes and know exactly what she was feeling. There's actually one scene with her that had me tearing up..for those of you who have seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about..."I'm not worthless!"...wow.

I also liked the interaction between she and Michelle Yeoh' s characters, but I could have done without the Gong Li character, who was way too one-dimensional for my taste. I will give props where they are due, though, in that Li chewed into her role and seemed to be enjoying it. Ken Watanabe, on the other hand, gave the film that extra bit of heart with a sincere performance as the object of Chiyo's affection. I, personally, think the two actors had terrific chemistry, despite Watanabe's character (or any other character for that matter) not aging very much. I wanna know their secret!:D

The film begins nicely by giving us some background into Chiyo (Zhang) and her journey through being a "servant" to becoming a full-fledged geisha. I'm not too familiar with the book, or the true geisha lifestyle, but what I was given was enough to satisfy me. At the midway point of the film, when Chiyo (aka Sayuri) is older, it basically becomes a duel of wits been Hatsumoto (Gong Li) and Sayuri. I have to admit, I found this to be quite entertaining, particularly when Sayuri outsmarted Hatsumoto.

The story was more engaging that I expected, but it was a bit too melodramatic, and from what I have been told, is missing some of the book's nuances.

Call me crazy if you will, but I really liked this film, mostly due to Ziyi's outstanding performance, the vibrant visuals, and the idea of being forced into a lifestyle which requires often painful sacrifices.