Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Director:

Rob Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Robin Swicord (screenplay)
Arthur Golden (book)

Release Date:

23 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

Plot Keywords:

Geisha | Japan | Jealousy | Love | Coming Of Age

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

Suzuka Ohgo	...	Chiyo
Togo Igawa	...	Tanaka
Mako	...	Sakamoto
Samantha Futerman	...	Satsu
Elizabeth Sung	...	Sakamoto's Wife
Thomas Ikeda	...	Mr. Bekku
Li Gong	...	Hatsumomo (as Gong Li)
Tsai Chin	...	Auntie
Kaori Momoi	...	Mother
Zoe Weizenbaum	...	Young Pumpkin
David Okihiro	...	Shamisen Teacher
Miyako Tachibana	...	Dance Teacher
Kotoko Kawamura	...	Granny
Karl Yune	...	Koichi
Eugenia Yuan	...	Korin

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature subject matter and some sexual content.

Runtime:

145 min | Philippines:140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | UK:12A | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Ireland:12A | Czech Republic:12 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Indonesia:Dewasa | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:14 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Canada Video Rating/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | France:Unrated | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 (special edition DVD) | Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41007) | China:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

American River, Sacramento, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

It took a lot of negotiating to get Rob Marshall to direct this film. Since he directed the hit film Chicago (2002) for Miramax, he owed his next film to them. This is a DreamWorks film. It was only because Miramax and DreamWorks have a long history of borrowing talent from each other that they were able to work out a deal.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the fight between Sayuri and Hatsumomo in Sayuri's room a crew member walks through the left side of the shot.

Quotes:

Chairman: It is too pretty a day to be so unhappy. Did you fall down? Why so shy? Nothing to be ashamed of, we all stumble from time to time. Do you see that enchanting lady in green? Once when she was just a maiko, she fell clean off her wooden shoes.
[laughs]
Geisha in Green: [laughs] It's true, I did.
Chairman: And now look at her, so elegant...
Geisha in Green: Mr. Chairman, shouldn't we hurry? We will miss the beginning.
Chairman: We see the spring dances every year, we can spare a moment. What's your name? Don't be afraid to look at me. Do you like sweet plum or cherry?
Chiyo: You mean... to eat?
Chairman: I like sweet plum myself. Come. None of us find as much kindness in this life, as we should. My children wait for these every spring.
[hands her the ice and spoon]
Chiyo: [looks at geisha by the tree, smears some of the cherry ice on her lips] Now I'm a geisha too.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Robin Swicord (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Tosa No Sunayama

A Top-Notch Eye Candy

Can a group of American men and Chinese actresses render the world of a Japanese geisha? The answer is yes, with stunning beauty … and regrettable flaws.

Truth be told, this movie was not as bad as its trailer led me to expect it to be. It had a story to tell (although it crumbles in the end),images to show, and material to present. There were ample displays of exquisite beauty -- the trailing tails of silk kimonos, the subtle allure of hand gestures, and the captivating scene of kabuki dance theater ...

On the other hand, the American director was not able to pull the Japanese out of Chinese actresses. (This movie was so crowded by famous Chinese idols that I found myself inadvertently searching for Joan Chen among the cast.) To be fair, all three main actors (Gong Li in particular) show strong performances that made me sympathetic to Rob Marshall's choices. However, they remain utterly Chinese throughout this movie. The look and accent are not the only problems. They lacked the kind of extreme femininity and excessive felicity of the delicately mechanical gesture and movements of traditional Japanese ladies you see in custom dramas of Japanese production. (Michelle Yeoh seems to be the only one trying a little bit of those, but it did not quite work for some reason.)

So, let me re-address the question: Can a group of American men and Chinese actresses render the world of a geisha? The answer, I guess, really depends on what you are looking for. If you would like a little bit of delight from an aesthetically pleasing picture with a dubious authenticity and realism, this movie delivers it. I would not say Rob Marshall failed completely. Memoirs of a Geisha is not the first, nor the last, movie that subjects another culture to the crude lens of American exoticism. It definitely is not the worst one.