A movie that sort of grows on you. I remember thinking that this was an okay piece of film-making the first I saw this, but then I saw it a second and a third time and I was honestly completely blown away. Nowadays this is one of my favourite movies. And I still haven't quite pinpointed just what it was that I missed the first time and realized during the following viewings. The obvious signs of a good movie were there from the beginning. The superb actors, the rich scenery and the attention to detail, the intriguing story that never quite goes the way you expect, the atmosphere that convinces you that you really are there or at least that you should be there - they were all there. And yes, I've seen some people complaining that this doesn't give an accurate image of the 20th century Japan and the geisha culture. Well, to you I say that I'm pretty sure that The Sound of Music quite gleefully dismisses some facts about the 20th century Austria during the war and I'm pretty sure that the Inglourious Basterds is nowhere near the truth when it comes to the war in France. The fact is that all of these films are entertainment. They will tweak the facts, they will ignore some details and make up their own if it makes the story flow better. And I, for one, am totally cool with that. Embellish all you want if it produces a film of this quality.
For me this is one of those movies that suck you in. That allow you to live a few hours of your life in a foreign strange place that is perhaps a bit dark and threatening, yet it feels like you've lived there your whole live. There's just enough familiarity in the way that these people struggle through their lives, their common and not-so-common squabbles, their morals, that it feels familiar, yet there's enough exotic, strange and awe-inspiring that it becomes interesting. And perhaps I just wasn't in the mood to be sucked in the first time I saw this one. Because that's what this movie requires. It needs you to sit back, enjoy the scenery and invest a moment of your life to these wonderful, cruel, heart-warming and enduring people that populate the streets of the geisha district. I promise you, if you manage that, you won't be disappointed.
For me this is one of those movies that suck you in. That allow you to live a few hours of your life in a foreign strange place that is perhaps a bit dark and threatening, yet it feels like you've lived there your whole live. There's just enough familiarity in the way that these people struggle through their lives, their common and not-so-common squabbles, their morals, that it feels familiar, yet there's enough exotic, strange and awe-inspiring that it becomes interesting. And perhaps I just wasn't in the mood to be sucked in the first time I saw this one. Because that's what this movie requires. It needs you to sit back, enjoy the scenery and invest a moment of your life to these wonderful, cruel, heart-warming and enduring people that populate the streets of the geisha district. I promise you, if you manage that, you won't be disappointed.