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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Memoirs of a Geisha Memoirs of a Geisha. Part history lesson, part romantic drama, and part cure for sleep apnea. Ok maybe it wasn't that bad. The new film from director Rob Marshall (Chicago) of an Arthur Golden novel, tells the story of Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang), the daughter of an impoverished fishing-village family, who is sold to a Geisha house as a young girl. There she is treated like a slave until her beauty attracts the eye of Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) who transforms her into Japan’s most celebrated Geisha. Sayuri desires to be the best to attract the love and devotion of The Chairman (Ken Watanabe). I went into this 145-minute film with minimal expectations. I wasn't sure what to presuppose nor did I even know that much about the Geisha history. As with any cultural movie I was hoping for at least the character depth and cinematography that makes films of this nature bearable. Both are not necessarily lacking but fall short of the template of The Last Samurai or even that crouching, hiding, hidden dragon thing. It is safe to say that this movie just is. You sort of walk out nodding your head and go, “ok, so, yeah, wanna get some coffee or something?” The plus for me was the small glimpse into the Geisha world. I would like to have seen more of what goes into the training and mindset of these stylish companions. I thought it was interesting the role they played in their culture and the focus put on the art of their tasks. Though acted perfectly by Zhang and Watanabe, the romantic element of these two characters did not go deep enough for me to pull for them or be concerned with the outcome. In the same way the look and feel of this picture did nothing to draw me in from an artistic perspective. The film is in English and though the use of subtitles can sometimes be distracting I believe this movie would be more suited if shot in Japanese with English captions. It would have give in it additional, original value and made it more believable as a period piece. The drama is kept somewhat alive by the rivalry between the opposing Geisha houses. As Mameha trains Sayuri she is in direct competition with Hatsumomo (Li Gong) and her young apprentice Pumpkin (Youki Kudoh) for inheritance of the house. Your dislike for Hatsumomo helps build the tension for this final decision. Sounds a lot more confusing than it really is and I am not sure it even all matters. It is safe to say you can take it or leave it. I don’t regret seeing it but at the same time I will have soon forgotten I ever did. I bet you can pick up the paperback version of the novel cheaper than the price of theater admission and snacks and from what I hear the book is a lot better. Memoirs of a Geisha is rated PG-13 for mature subject matter and some sexual content. It is a fairly clean movie and handles the subject matter with art and tact, just like a good Geisha would. I give it 2.9 out of 5 Kimonos. Or as my wife Cindy said, “I give it 2 out of 5 Sumo Wrestlers, it was a struggle to watch!” The Mungle 12/19/05 Matt hosts the weekly syndicated Indie Rock Radio Show Spin 180. Plus with his wife Cindy they do a weekly radio feature, The Mungles on Movies. For additional reviews and interview clips visit the website www.mungleshow.com
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