Just as "The last samurai" is Hollywood's imagination of what the world of samurai and bushido is like, "Memoirs of a geisha" is Hollywood's imagination of the world of geisha. Both are way off the mark.
I have not read the book, but can only hope that it does not descend to the brainless depiction of geisha as glorified prostitutes who can also entertain with dancing and singing, but nothing more. For better insight, watch "My Geisha" (1962) staring two of the best stars we've ever had, Shirley MacCaine and Yves Montand. A true geisha is trained to be an all-round companion fitting for the most sophisticated environment, able to hold an intelligent conversation as easily on international finance and as on the Major League, and any subject in-between.
Turning to the movie, enough have been said elsewhere about the art direction ("It's not a movie, it's a fashion show" quipped Philadelphia Weekly). I'll concentrate on the acting, but not before straightening out another muddled thinking that comes up in almost every discussion of this movie the language barrier.
Some contend that because the actresses portray Japanese, inadequate English such as ZHANG Ziyi's is acceptable. In that line of reasoning, you can't find thinking that is more muddled. In Doctor Zhivago, everybody is supposed to be speaking Russian. In the Hollywood movie, English is the proxy for Russian and there's nothing wrong with it. But it's NOT about Russians speaking English. It's about Russians speaking fluent Russian, only that it's presented to the movie audience in English. There is absolutely no excuse for the English we hear in Dr. Zhivago to be less than perfectly fluent.
It's exactly the same situation with "Memoirs". Zhang speaking in broken English means that her character Sayuri speaks in broken Japanese, which is totally inconceivable. What is even worse is that of the three lead actresses, while the English of ZHANG Ziyi and GONG Li is severely limited, Michelle Yeoh's English is her mother tongue, or at least one of her mother tongues. This results in an inconsistency that is almost painful to behold (or to hear, to be exact). One would almost wish that Yeoh would lower her level of English to match with the other two's so that the inconsistency wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb every time she has a dialogue with them.
Another way of looking at this is that Zhang and Gong perform with a handicap, which can be interpreted as a compliment. Consider the last scene when Sayuri delivers her long-awaited expression of love to The Chairman, something to the effect that ever since meeting him on the bridge, she has been focusing her life on moving towards him. I'm sure someone told Zhang what the English words she spoke means but there is absolutely no conviction in her annunciation of the words, which came out almost like a jumble of meaningless sounds. I don't blame her for that because it takes time to fully immerse in a new language. Her good acting (facial expression etc) actually salvages the situation a little bit.
As to the rest of the cast, despite the high praises Gong receives, she has not really been challenged in this movie, being given a somewhat stereotyped role. Her recent role in "Eros" offers considerably more. Michelle Yeoh, beautiful as she is, looks too modern and "western" to be a geisha. But these three are not the only, or even the most interesting, women to watch. The owner of the geisha house is marvellously well played. It's very easy to succumb to turning this role into a comical, lifeless caricature. The actress playing this role did a superb job in making this a character of flesh and blood, someone that you can understand, albeit despise a little. Playing Pumpkin is Youki Kudoh who had proved that she could act, way back in Snow Falling on Cedars (1999). Best of all, however, is Suzuka Ohgo who plays Chiyo, that is, young Saruyi.
As to the men, it's interesting to see the two key player swapping roles. Typical gentleman Koji Yakusho (Shall we dansu, Lost paradise, The eel, Warm water under a red bridge) now plays the uncouth Nobu while macho Ken Watanabe (The last samurai) is the gentle "Chairman". All goes to show how versatile these two actors are.
All told, "Memoirs" is an entertaining movie, but a little too long. The early portion on the childhood of Saruyi (when she was called Chiyo) can but cut down, but then Suzuka Ohgo is so good! The main section is melodramatic, and okay if you like that sort of thing. The last part offers some nice (and mild) surprises, but it's certainly sweet to see the fulfilment of the little girl's initial infatuation, which became her entire purpose of life. No harm in romanticising a little it's Hollywood after all. But the language problem really takes a lot away. If I had a choice, I would rather see it in Japanese, with subtitles.
I have not read the book, but can only hope that it does not descend to the brainless depiction of geisha as glorified prostitutes who can also entertain with dancing and singing, but nothing more. For better insight, watch "My Geisha" (1962) staring two of the best stars we've ever had, Shirley MacCaine and Yves Montand. A true geisha is trained to be an all-round companion fitting for the most sophisticated environment, able to hold an intelligent conversation as easily on international finance and as on the Major League, and any subject in-between.
Turning to the movie, enough have been said elsewhere about the art direction ("It's not a movie, it's a fashion show" quipped Philadelphia Weekly). I'll concentrate on the acting, but not before straightening out another muddled thinking that comes up in almost every discussion of this movie the language barrier.
Some contend that because the actresses portray Japanese, inadequate English such as ZHANG Ziyi's is acceptable. In that line of reasoning, you can't find thinking that is more muddled. In Doctor Zhivago, everybody is supposed to be speaking Russian. In the Hollywood movie, English is the proxy for Russian and there's nothing wrong with it. But it's NOT about Russians speaking English. It's about Russians speaking fluent Russian, only that it's presented to the movie audience in English. There is absolutely no excuse for the English we hear in Dr. Zhivago to be less than perfectly fluent.
It's exactly the same situation with "Memoirs". Zhang speaking in broken English means that her character Sayuri speaks in broken Japanese, which is totally inconceivable. What is even worse is that of the three lead actresses, while the English of ZHANG Ziyi and GONG Li is severely limited, Michelle Yeoh's English is her mother tongue, or at least one of her mother tongues. This results in an inconsistency that is almost painful to behold (or to hear, to be exact). One would almost wish that Yeoh would lower her level of English to match with the other two's so that the inconsistency wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb every time she has a dialogue with them.
Another way of looking at this is that Zhang and Gong perform with a handicap, which can be interpreted as a compliment. Consider the last scene when Sayuri delivers her long-awaited expression of love to The Chairman, something to the effect that ever since meeting him on the bridge, she has been focusing her life on moving towards him. I'm sure someone told Zhang what the English words she spoke means but there is absolutely no conviction in her annunciation of the words, which came out almost like a jumble of meaningless sounds. I don't blame her for that because it takes time to fully immerse in a new language. Her good acting (facial expression etc) actually salvages the situation a little bit.
As to the rest of the cast, despite the high praises Gong receives, she has not really been challenged in this movie, being given a somewhat stereotyped role. Her recent role in "Eros" offers considerably more. Michelle Yeoh, beautiful as she is, looks too modern and "western" to be a geisha. But these three are not the only, or even the most interesting, women to watch. The owner of the geisha house is marvellously well played. It's very easy to succumb to turning this role into a comical, lifeless caricature. The actress playing this role did a superb job in making this a character of flesh and blood, someone that you can understand, albeit despise a little. Playing Pumpkin is Youki Kudoh who had proved that she could act, way back in Snow Falling on Cedars (1999). Best of all, however, is Suzuka Ohgo who plays Chiyo, that is, young Saruyi.
As to the men, it's interesting to see the two key player swapping roles. Typical gentleman Koji Yakusho (Shall we dansu, Lost paradise, The eel, Warm water under a red bridge) now plays the uncouth Nobu while macho Ken Watanabe (The last samurai) is the gentle "Chairman". All goes to show how versatile these two actors are.
All told, "Memoirs" is an entertaining movie, but a little too long. The early portion on the childhood of Saruyi (when she was called Chiyo) can but cut down, but then Suzuka Ohgo is so good! The main section is melodramatic, and okay if you like that sort of thing. The last part offers some nice (and mild) surprises, but it's certainly sweet to see the fulfilment of the little girl's initial infatuation, which became her entire purpose of life. No harm in romanticising a little it's Hollywood after all. But the language problem really takes a lot away. If I had a choice, I would rather see it in Japanese, with subtitles.