“Memoirs of a Geisha” Makes the Leap
I saw "Memoirs of a Geisha" with Bookie when it came out in theatres last year, and I loved it. We saw it at a Saturday matinee, and we left with that warm, fuzzy feeling that can only come from a date film that wasn’t overly-sugary, but ended with a palatable, cinematic high-five. So what does that have to do with the here and now?
A few weeks ago, my Bookie saw the film again, and she declared it an "unrewatchable" movie, meaning that it did not make the leap to the small screen. I was shocked and aghast, especially given how much we both loved this film. Surely, there had to be some mistake. I did some prodding, and discovered that Bookie just happened to catch the movie while on the Amtrak from Seattle to Portland, which helped clear things up for me.
Of course, Memoirs of a Geisha sucks on Amtrak, but so would any other film. I repeat, any movie sucks on Amtrak. Has anyone seen the monitors on Amtrak? They’re like, only slightly larger than a postage stamp. If my first experience with the Star Wars films had been on Amtrak instead of the big screen, I’d have written several thousand words, justifying millions of paying viewers forming an orderly line to either punch George Lucas in the face or knee him in the groin. And I love Star Wars. That’s how bad Amtrak movie screens are. Based on this premise, I talked Bookie into giving the "Geishas" another shot.
Memoirs of a Geisha is a film based on a novel written by Arthur Golden. No, I didn’t read the book, and while we’re on the subject, for every smug, pretentious jerk who ever uttered any resemblance of the phrase, "I watched the movie, but the book was better," just stop it. Sharing this information does not make us think you’re a smarter person, nor does it make us want to pick up the book. It just makes most of us entertain, then ultimately suppress the urge to do moderate to severe bodily harm to you for showing us up.
So what if the book was better, especially since the film is shorter? Some of us don’t have four-to-twelve hours to spare reading just to prove to our friends that we’re more literate than them. We’d rather spend that time on worthier causes like watching football or getting drunk and laid. You’ve been put on notice. Stop showing us up. Back to the review.
Before I get into what Memoirs is about, I’ll point out what it’s not about. When I agreed to see this film, even though it was rated PG-13, my inner-pervert kept telling me that I was about to embark on some "skin-emax" action. I was wrong. Though there were some mature situations, not a single mammary was exposed, and there were no overly-gratuitous sex-scenes. I’m not saying that I was disappointed. I just wanted to point this out so my fellow-perverts wouldn’t waste their time on this one and opt for one of the Sharon Stone rentals instead.
Memoirs of a Geisha begins with two young girls being sold by their parents and whisked away under the cover of night. The younger girl, named Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo/Ziyi Zhang) was sold to a geisha house, and the older girl, Satsu (Samantha Futerman) was sent to the "pleasure district". Early in the film, the story focuses on Chiyo’s abuse at the hands of Hatsumomo (Li Gong) and Chiyo’s efforts to reunite with Satsu and escape their servitude. She did manage to reunite with Satsu, but their triumph was short-lived. Satsu convinced Chiyo to meet her at a bridge so they could run away together, but in her efforts to escape, Chiyo fell from a roof and was injured. Satsu could not wait for her, and Chiyo never saw her sister again, nor would she have the satisfaction of seeing her parents again, as news came of their deaths after Chiyo’s accident. The closest thing she had to family was within the very geisha house she tried to escape.
As punishment for her disloyalty and payment for medical treatment, Chiyo became a slave for Mother (Kaori Momoi). Chiyo seemed to be at her lowest point when a random act of kindness from a stranger changed her life forever, and provided what my Bookie calls one of the "creepiest moments in film". A man, known only as The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) offers her a kind word, a cherry-flavored snow cone, and enough money to keep her fed for a week, only asking that she smile in return. Chiyo, mesmerized by The Chairman and his geisha companions, decided to become a geisha herself, if only to encounter the kind, gentle Chairman again. I won’t give away anymore of the plot, but I should probably mention that at the time of this fateful encounter, Chiyo couldn’t have been more than nine or ten years old, while the chairman appeared to be somewhere in his late twenties to early thirties. The scene was completely innocent and devoid of sexual connotation, but I can certainly see why it gave Bookie pause.
Creepy scene notwithstanding, I loved this film, both in theatres and on DVD. It gave me some insight on Japanese culture during the early to mid-twentieth century. I wouldn’t presume to understand most of it, especially the nuisances and subtle differences between being a geisha and a pleasure worker, or concubine, but there are definitely differences. Being geisha seems to carry a higher stature, and they are looked upon as living works of art.
Watching Chiyo’s journey towards her goal was surreal and full of triumphs and sorrow, and I really got into the plot. The cinematography was incredible, particularly the panoramic view of the mountains and Chiyo’s dancing scene. Memoirs of a Geisha definitely made the leap, and is a DVD worthy of any personal library.
Bookie agrees.
1)Story: A
2)Acting: A
3)Visuals: A+
4)Originality/Innovation: A
5)Enjoyability Grade: A
6)Date Material: A+
7)Contemporary Element (Will it be watchable two decades from now?): A
8)Overall Grade: A
***
Blind Eye Turning: Poems, Prose, and other Scribbles, by Barry Dawson
Buy it at www.lulu.com
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