Memoirs Of A Geisha

Kworb

Wow, I loved this movie. It deserves its Oscars. I just wish the characters all spoke Japanese rather than Engrish, and that it had a better ending.

Zephyr

The book is even better.

I Got Soul

Won 3 oscars. One of the bigger winners of the night, despite the "smaller" categorical wins.

- I've always wanted to see this. Will do so when it's out on DVD.

Marc

A better ending??? That the best ending any Geisha could have. Only half a wife.

anyway, I love Michelle's character. She did it best.

Kworb

With better I mean.. more emotional or dramatic. It was a bit silly now, and did not fit in with the rest of the movie

~A*D*O*R*A~

Yep^ there was trouble with that and then apparant issues with the Chinese casting in Japanese roles, and which were in the time it's based, very different cultures. Well, they still are... but basically Geisha was a type of prostitution that was very different to other places, sharing similarities with the 'highest' courtesans in royal households in certain other countries.

But anyway - I didn't like it, it glamourised it and didn't show enough of the other issues surrounding and as part of it. The book was marginally better, I agree with Kremlin Duck there, but even that was lacking in reality (I know the Geisha world was supposed to be ideally fantastical hence some might say it was realistic, but that was only it's aim, the surface and what outsiders saw). It was written by a man who didn't live at the time or even from Japan right? Plus, I think I can remember some ontroversy over his 'research'.

But anyway - typical 'oriental' styled movie (even though it was American) in that it has beautiful cinematography, lavish colours, sounds, movement, design and feel - but that kind of overshadowed everything else, like Kworb said - lack of emotion and drama. That's kind of representative in my eyes, all that beauty to disguise the nature of what's underneath, hiding it as it were.

Kworb

Oh no, the emotion and drama were definitely there, at least for me, it's just at the ending it was all gone. I know it isn't a realistic portrayal, but I don't look for realism in movies, just stories that move me, and this one did.

As for the controversy, I found this:

Quote:

After Memoirs of a Geisha was published, Arthur Golden was sued for breach of contract and defamation of character by Mineko Iwasaki, a retired geisha he had interviewed for background information while writing the novel. According to the plaintiff, Golden had agreed to protect her anonymity if she told him about her life as a geisha. She had requested this because of the traditional code of silence among the geisha community. Yet when the novel was released Golden thanked "Mineko Iwasaki, one of Gion’s top geisha in the 1960s and 1970s" in the acknowledgements, and there appeared to be many similarities between his heroine Sayuri and Iwasaki. Iwasaki received several death threats and was accused of dishonoring her profession for her involvement with Memoirs of a Geisha.

Aside from failing to protect her identity, Iwasaki complained that Golden had inaccurately portrayed geisha as high class prostitutes. In the novel, Sayuri's virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder. This plot point that particularly offended Iwasaki, who stated that not only had this never happened to her, but that no such custom existed at all in Gion.

In 2003, Iwasaki and Golden settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.

So yeah the author obviously made up some stuff to make the story more interesting.

~A*D*O*R*A~

Yeah, he veered off more into the world of one on one paid prostitution, which I ahev no doubt happened and is not portrayed or talked about, but for many it was generally about being the 'ideal woman' companion for men in terms of skill, beauty, conversation etc but as any ideal of woman, they were sought after, looked up to by 'lower' prostitutes (the ones who we generally think of), competative within their own spheres trying to cement their own superiority but also not good enough and looked down upon. That's what people wanted but behind closed doors, or for all to see even but never admitted, they were sexual objects of desire and even though the height of 'perfection', not what any 'decent' (yeah

) would marry or publically claim to have any connection with etc hence what Marc said - she got the 'greatest' outcome she could have got for a Geisha.

You're right, there was drama and emotion and perhaps enough for the view they were trying to portray, I guess for me it just didn't do justice, and that always bugs me when it happens

- unless of course, like you said, I find it particularly moving and fair in that respect if not the whole picture but perhaps with at least glimpses of the rest to show that there is more.

That bit in the quote about the woman being accused of dishonouring her profession is such a hypocritical joke. I feel sorry for her and he really couldn't have realised the consequences of what he did in order to do it, unless he did and just didn't care. It's not just a case of him not 'honouring' his agreement, it's what his actions would have led to. I can only imagine too well the kind of situation that put her in, he should have thought more before he acted. I think there was abit more as well, it was a while ago when I looked at it properly, but I remember thinking he didn't do enough research either.

Sir. Will

I actually loved this movie and I don't think I watched the beginning where it did win its awards, but, I saw where they won one at the end for some cool category. But, seriously, the movie was BEAUTIFUL. The acting was awesome and it was so just different, from what you normally I see. I love those type of movies. And going into it, I didn't know it was going to be so good, which made me like it even more.

GREAT movie. Probably the best from December, imo, besides Munich or Syriana. ^__^

Adrian

I have to see this movie!

Travis10

I want to see it, it looks visually appealing.

tamara falco

ill see it this weekend and bump this