Memoirs of a Geisha (Columbia Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment) Roadshow
Starring Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li and Kevin Watanabe
Directed by Rob Marshall

Memoirs of a Geisha could easily be one of the most frustrating films ever to be made. On one hand, it is the most beautifully photographed film ever to be made. However, its emphasis on the beautiful sets and scenery has come at the expense of the story itself. The pacing, the characters and the direction are all uninspiring.

You can notice these problems very early on. For instance, at the beginning when our central character, nine year-old Sayuri, mother dies, she & her sister are then sold by her father. The scene tries to start off rather emotional, but how can a scene like that work when you've only seen the opening credits. The film improves a little when Sayuri is brought to a geisha house. Her mistreatment by Mother (Kaori Moimoi) and Mother's most profitable geisha, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), is difficult to watch. Some of the best scenes consist of the young girl learns what it takes to be a geisha. Anyone fascinated by Japanese culture will be really captivated by all this. However once the 9 year old falls in love with the 40 year-old Chairman (Ken Watanabe), things go haywire, pretty quickly. Just days after being beaten with a stick by the evil Mother, she finds it in herself to become the best Geisha in all of Osaka, only if she gets to see the Chairman again. 4 years later, and what do you know? Her dreams come true. Rival Geisha-pimp Mamhea (Michelle Yeoh) gives Mother an offer to turn Sayuri into a geisha. From here she gets to undergo a Cinderella transformation, which is actually quite interesting. But once World War II hits, you will be fighting to stay awake, as the film turns into a chick-flick by the numbers.

Like an economics tute at University, you really have to listen hard. All Asian actors bar Michelle Yeoh, are difficult to understand. The movie should have been in Japanese with subtitles, therefore some scenes wouldn't have been so cringe worthy. I never read the book, so I can't tell you if it remained true to the bestseller, but apparently the ending is much more Hollywood-esque. Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe try the hardest to put some life into the script, but it is Gong Li that steals the show. She plays Hatsumomo with such terrifying intensity.

Memoirs is definitely one of the best looking film in recent times, however, with inept storytelling, this is much more like a Discovery documentary than a work of art.


out of ten

Reviewed by Dino White

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