I saw Memoirs of a Geisha today - I really enjoyed the story told over an extended time period, and the cinematography was outstanding - very visceral. The idea of the courtesan as an elite specialized martial artist was most intriguing. And of course, I never get tired of seeing performances by the three lead actresses. So, whether you like this movie or not, I think comes down to your tolerance of the Engrish dialogue - if you can get in the mood, it does give the film a very retro Hollywood portrayal of Japan feel. If not, it'll surely get on your nerves...

4 out of 5.

It is the perfect movie for Zhang Ziyi, becuase like its lead actress it is beautiful to look at, but has no substance. In the awards forum it was said that it could end up as this years Cold Mountain and indeed both movies have some things in common. The center of both movies is a love story that never gets off the ground. I couldn't buy Jude Laws and Nicole Kidmans eternal love since they only met for a short while and I never bought the affection the 9-year-old girl (later to be played by Ziyi Zhang) for the 30+ years older Ken Watanabe. He bought her an ice and now she sets her goal in life to marry him? Come on!
It is only one of several flaws the script suffers. I never read the book, so I can only judge the movie by itself. The title suggested to me that this movie would give an insiders perspective of asian culture and especially the mysterious life of a geisha. Indeed the first voiceover only fortifies it when a woman tells us that there are a lot of mystery around geisha and without them they couldn't exist (suggesting this is what the movie will do). However the whole thing seems nothing more than an outsiders look at geisha. You never get many insights into the japanese culture or social system. It was deeply flawed to have this movie directed by an american since a japanes director would have had much more insight. Another dumb decision is to have all the actors speak in broken english. Shoot the god damn thing in japanese with englisch subtitles, or don't shoot it at all. Which leads us to another critical point. The actors. There is not ONE outstanding performance in this thought-to-be ensemble piece. Michelle Yeoh fares best, probably because she was the only one who actually understood her dialogue. Most of the others seemed to have to concentrate on their english spelling so much, that they forgot to inject life into their performance. Especially Ziyi Zhang is a total disappointment.
There are a few things to like though. Visually it is a treat, the scenes after the americans took over control of Japan were really good since they were a deep cut into japanese culture and it is interesting to compare the life before and after. Furthermore despite it flaws the movie never drags, the movie didn't feel longer than it's 2 1/2 hour runtime.
But the negatives clearly outweigh the positives in this one. And whoever gave one of the actors - in an effort to bed Ziyi Zhang - the actual line "Would you like to see my Kimono collection" should never get a writing gig again. Nothing else clarifies how western the look at this asian world is and that is the main problem of the movie. Major Oscar nominations would be a shame...

C

What a horrible thing to say!


And wow, three Fs

I AM SEEING THIS TOMORROW NIGHT!!!! Can't wait!

I will have my thoughts up soon. For now, let's just say I was certainly not disappointed.

...Sounds like a dud, terrible rating.

Going into the film, I had worries with all the slamming critics have given, even though I didn't read all of them in details. However, I'm happy to say it turns out to be one of more satisfying movie experiences of the year.

First I echo the sentiment that the film is simply technically perfect. The retro-mood it created had me immensed in the world of geisha from beginning to the end. It's very 1930 Shanghai like. The music score isn't as haunting as the one in CTHD, but it is still masterfully composed and fits in the background very well. It's worth seeing for the big screen experience alone. The story also never dragged, as each of the three parts flowed nicely. I normally don't like voiceover, but here it really held the movie together and helped to move the story along.

As for the accents, the problem has definitely been exaggerated. I was expecting a lot of unpleasant broken English to be spoken, but they all sounded fine to good, not just from the most fluent Michelle Yeoh, but Ken Watanabe, Youki Kudoh (who plays Pumpkin) and other supporting casts. Gong Li had a few awkward lines at the beginning, and Ziyi had more and is the one who had to try the hardest, but both pulled off admirably and didn't hurt their performances in the process.

Talking about performances, I think almost all of them did well. It's much more of an ensemble piece, and I was especially impressed by the young Sayuri and Ken Watanabe.

The main problem I have is with character development. It is a cinderella story at heart, but the good and evil are too clear-cut and lack dimension. I also want to see more ups and downs for the competition between Ziyi and Gong Li. Gong did all she could, but the script didn't allow her to be a worthy opponent. Except for some verbal back-and-forth between the two and a few dirty tricks from Gong, there was no reason to believe why she was the most famous geisha in Japan before Ziyi arrived.

In addition, the Mother character is over-the-top and didn't fit the emotional aspect the film quite well, although she did provide some comical moments. The big dance scene had excellent buildup, but the execution of the dance felt flat. It lasted only about 30 seconds, while doubling that and making it more mesmerizing would have made the whole middle act more effective.

These flaws didn't overshadow the fact that what was put on screen worked for me. Will I be willing to watch it again with friends? In a heartbeat. Will I recommend it to others? Definitely. With that in mind, I give the film an A-.

^ I agree with most of your review.

I do think I would have liked to see more of Gong Li's character. The movie just doesn't show enough of her. I did think her facial expressions during the burning house scene was amazing, though.

Despite the lack of substance and it does seem a little too long, I enjoyed it a lot.

B+

I agree. Gong's facial expressions were terrific.

I'm glad both of you liked it (especially considering how much you were looking forward to it). I should see it when it's releasd here some time in January.

Now a question for you...if you were completely isolated and didn't know any reviews for this movie (or just saw the very first screening of it months ago) would you say it's Oscar material?

I'd say it has a chance, in a way similar to Road to Perdition with a better release date. It's actually very much in the same vein as The Aviator and Cold Mountain, just as a lot of us expected. People will find problems with the story and the characters, while admiring the technical aspects of the film. I don't know what it did differently to deserve this kind of bashing.

One thing it doesn't have is a standout performance. Gong isn't as show-stealing as Renee in Cold Mountain and didn't have the one Oscar-clip that Renee had, and there is certainly nobody here dominates the screen as much as DiCaprio did in The Aviator. Ziyi only appeared in 2/3 of the film since the first act is about the young Sayuri, so everybody is kind of supporting here.

It's not a film that threats to win, but should've been a safe choice that fights for the No.5 position.

Dissappointing. Had its moments, most of them having to do with Youki Kudoh and Gong Li, and the actress who played Mother, Kaori Momoi was good although the characterization of mother was too light here. I found Mameha (Yeow) to be bland. Not so much her acting, as what Marshall pretty much relegates Mameha to. I guidance, rather than having own personal vendettas, secrecy, and dark side. Ziyi holds her own, and the language issue didn't both me at all, but dear God they managed to put way too much Sayuri/Chairman longing stares into this. OCnsidering the chairman is rarely present, and works better as an unknown operative, the desire aspect of this film version is too overwhelming. Also, her friendship and respect for Nobu do not come through, and it seems simply as a random suitor she does not like. This certainly wasn't Geisha 101 that other critics complained about either. Most of the detail, of which i loved originally, was removed, and what was up with that dance sequence? Atrocious and silly. I heard gigling in the audiance, and it was a very mature audiance.

Overall, it wasn't offensive, it just wasn't all that engaging either.

Full review to come.

BOOOO DOLCE!! I'm going to be seeing it tonight... I have such high expectations... I hope xiayun is right

At least xiayun has a more Asian sounding username than dolcevita!

Oh yeah, a sidenote, I got to theater 20 minutes early and was sitting there looking at the movie trivia on the screen, and one of the questions was what movie the word "paparazzi" comes from.

I think there is not that much bashing than that most just think it is too average. Most reviews aren't hateful, just on the edge of good/bad (and happen to be more on the "bad"-side). Also, there are just no avid supports of it either. Maybe the expectations were just set too high.

I agree with you 100%

Okay, So here's my thoughts on the movie.

I give this movie a strong B. I LOVED Gong Li in this movie, she was amazing and easily stood out. The movie itself was beautiful but I found that it was too perfect at the end. I've never read the book so I'm guessing that's how it ends, but I think it would've been better if they did something different with it at the end.

Also, I agree with Galia completely on the dance sequence. From the pictures i saw posted before i was expecting something beautiful like one of the choreographed dance sequences in CTHD, but it went completely artistic and crazy.. The 2 foot heels didnt help either. I just thought it'd be so much better. I dont know how that dance would give her hte title of "the most beautiful geisha ever".

Also, the use of English bothered me too when the American soldiers came in and they managed to speak perfectly to eachother. This really took me away form the movie experience as i was questioning it then instead of being immersed in it.

But regardless, still very good movie and i would rewatch it. I loved Pumpkin's character as well. Ziyi zhang was amazing as well, but nothing outstanding. Michelle Yeoh (sp?) was greatly underused and was too simple.

A solid movie. The film is beautifully shot and very lush but contains some problems of not having a lot of substance beneath the sleek, shiny cover. The romance between Ziyi Zhang and Ken Watanabe is also unfortunately underdeveloped. The acting is generally strong from all, although the actors are hampered by the need to speak in English, which especially effects lead actress Zhang, although she still turns in a decent performance. Michelle Yeoh offers solid support, but Gong Li is tremendous as the conniving, bitch-on-wheels Hatsumoto. B

See Libs! Now you know what all the buzz was about Li before the movie opened!

Neo and Libs, thanks for your thoughts. I found it odd how few people here have seen Geisha considering how well its ticket sales have been. Its good to see some other people saw it and have a sense of the movie too. What do you guys think?

I will say, after having read the book, that neo you are right it doesn't end as it does in the movie. The two do finally get together, but it actually comes as much more of a surprise to Sayuri, as The Chairman hides his interest throughout. But then she gets pregnant, which is a threat to his offspring heir (company) so she moves to America and starts a tea house. He visits her often in the U.S. as his business is expanding there. He dies long before she does (clearly the age difference) and she muses in Central Park about how content she ended up being in her new life.

Levy, Sayuri does in fact fall in love with the Chairman after he buys her an ice cone. Its supposed to be about him being the one man to ever show her kindness since she arrives in Gion (outside of Pumpkin).

I believe this movie would've been a LOT stronger had it placed more emphasis on gender/class lines rather than making it a love story. The main reaosn why I really like Gong Li's character is because she was the only one who showed agency and who broke away from the mould of a "geisha". The movie tried very hard to show that geisha's are not "prositutes" yet this was greatly undercut with the sale of Sayuri's viriginity. The only two characters who really stood out were the ones who showed more layers beyond the simple life of a geisha: gong li and pumpkin (don't know her real name)

Hmmm That's very interesting! I think that would've made a much better ending to the movie, even if it took 45 minutes more to explain it

Good to see both of you enjoyed it. I agree the dance sequence is a big letdown after all the nice buildups.

I had been anticipating Memoirs ever since Spielberg was set to direct and now, years later, it finally hits the big-screen with Rob Marshall as director and the absolutely stunning Zhang Ziyi as the lead. Pegged to make quite a bit of noise at the oscars next year, the movie was met with some surprisingly negative reactions and so I tempered my enthusiasm before going to see it......but it still disappointed me.

My criticism seems to be well in line with the "looks beautiful but has no soul" type of experience. Memoirs is certainly a sight to behold, with gorgeous sets, costumes, women and music and is more than competently directed by Rob Marshall. I liked the opening quite a bit with little Chiyo struggling with the oppressive nature of the house 'Mother' and her flamboyant, preening geisha girl Hatsumomo. However, once Chiyo grows up we enter a stage of the film that I just didn't care for. Sayuri's doe-eyed stare and earnest longing become increasingly tired (though yeah, Ziyi is gorgeous beyond words), as do the antics of Gong Li (who is still pretty good playing a one-note character). Their spat seems forced and the narrative, with constant voiceovers from Yeoh explaining her plan for Sayuri is kind of awkward. The chairman is never presented as a very interesting man and so I didn't really give a damn whether Sayuri succeeded in her pursuit of him or not. Wartime comes with little emotional impact and after years, it seems things are just as they were. There are some nice moments between Sayuri and Pumpkin in the last third, but other than that I was unengaged in the drama.

As far as the language issue goes, there is no doubt the film would have benifited from being in a language other than English. Mother in particular is incredibly difficult to understand, as well as Auntie and some of Hatsumomo's lines. Surprisingly, Zhang Ziyi comes through as being the most coherent outside of perhaps Yeoh. The character of Sayuri is pretty flat though and so Ziyi never really gets to shine like she does in movies like Crouching Tiger or 2046. And please tell me why it was not Ziyi's voice used for the main narration? I mean, what the fuck was that?

Not at all a bad film though and definitely worth watching for the visuals and the glimpse into geisha lifestyle.

C+