Memoirs of a Geisha

[Twitch]

I just saw it on pay per view. Didn't previously know the premise so I was pleasantly surprised that it was set in the 30s-40s. The Japanese men wore some decent hats and suits too.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

The movie was good, but the book was much, much better—it was an excellent read! The movie glossed over a lot of the history and meaning behind much of the costuming, rituals, etc...

 

[mysterygal]

I LOVED that movie, the costumes and everything were absolutely beautiful! The book probably would be great..that's one thing I love about books is that they do go into more detail, sometimes half of what's in a book is lost in the movie

 

[Feraud]

oh I hated this movie. :eusa_doh:
The book was very enjoyable but the filmmakers did a horrible job of bringing this story to the screen. The acting was flat as all heck and I did not really care what happened to the characters. The competition/jealousy between Hatsumomo and Sayuri felt forced, empty, and just blah.
What a waste of a good book. The costumes did look good I guess.. [huh]

 

[Lauren]

I really liked it and found it very aesthetically pleasing. Pretty depressing ending, though.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

The movie was good, but the book was much, much better—it was an excellent read! The movie glossed over a lot of the history and meaning behind much of the costuming, rituals, etc...

I must admit I really didn't like the movie for these exact reason's that you have said. The book was good because it explained the clothing, history and ritual so vividly. The movie skipped these facts completely, hence I didn't like it at all.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I read the book first--it makes much more sense than the movie, and was a very fast read. Basically, the movie did not explain much of anything behind the costumes (and they could have, very easily), and therfore I found it disappointing. What makes the costumes so appealing is that everything has a very specific meaning. The way the hair is styled, the way the nape of the neck is left bare, etc. The society was so rigid and repressed that it makes the world of the geisha that much more exotic and strikingly beautiful

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think Zhang Ziyi is a wonderful actress -- she was spectacular in "2046" -- but I left "Geisha" feeling like she really didn't get a chance to show what she's capable of doing. It's a gorgeous film to look at, but the center seemed to be missing -- and like a lot of folks have suggested, I suspect a lot of the meat of the story was left behind in the parts that didnt get adapted from the book.

But I do think it's worth seeing, if only for the lushness of the visuals.

 

[mysterygal]

I wonder then, if reading the book before watching the movie, ruined the movie because what was left out. I found the movie very enjoyable, but yet I know next to nothing of chinese culture...if nothing else, it piqued my interest in getting the book!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I think I would have found the movie somewhat confusing had I not read the book. To me, it seemed to jump about, and parts seemed to be missing. Of course, having read the book, they were missing However, my mother, who hasn't read the book (I gave it to her to read, in fact ), liked it just fine, though she had a lot of questions about the story (we watched it separately.)

Part of what the movie failed to convey was that the Japanese culture was very regimented and adhered to a strict social structure. The book itself was actually visually appealing, if that makes sense—it was vivid and rich, and the movie fell flat in comparison.

 

[mysterygal]

the movie somewhat tried to convey their strict social structure, mostly by how different it was during the war, but yes, it did leave for some confusion for people like me who don't know anything about it....There was a lot of why's that were not answered in the film, like why they dressed that certain way, the hair, ect.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Geisha

I liked this movie and saw it with my girl, who had read the book. Interesting look into a remote and different culture - long ago. It's hard to believe the changes in that country in the course of one century. The militarism that is only hinted at in the movie, of course eventually led to WWII and a complete collapse of Japanese society as they had known it. An interesting glimpse of what had been. Oh, and great costumes too! -dixon cannon

 

[jitterbugdoll]

They put so much thought into every single little detail--it was amazing. Everything had meaning! The movie hints at, for example, when the character pours tea and offers up a glimpse of her wrist, but the sheer complexity of it is mind boggling!

 

[Paisley]

The movie hints at, for example, when the character pours tea and offers up a glimpse of her wrist, but the sheer complexity of it is mind boggling!

I found this aspect intriguing, too. Despite the fact that the women were for sale, so to speak, they had a great deal of modesty. The character Vanessa (or whatever her name was--I'm not familiar with Japanese names) said, "We're selling our skills, not ourselves." And they weren't closing down the tea houses: they stayed awhile, flirted with the men a little, and left, leaving the men apparently wanting more. Pumpkin, though, (again, whatever her name was) was whatever people wanted her to be: an ingenue at the geisha house, a floosy after the war.

The sense of duty was something different from the culture we live in. The geishas--most of them--accepted that they couldn't love. Here and now, even many husbands and wives look to trade up. The Chairman didn't vye for Chia because Dr. Crabb loved her--and he owed Crabb a great debt.

Some things don't differ from one culture to another, though. For one thing, poor management. The woman who ran the geisha house (the one the main characters lived in) let the oldest girl's temper and outright abusiveness go unchecked. She allowed Chia and Pumpkin to be in competition when they should have debuted separately and cooperated instead.

I enjoyed this movie very much and I look forward to reading the book.