Memoirs of a Geisha
Grade: |
 |
Plot Summary:
From the novel by Arthur Golden, young Chiyo is sold to a school and eventually becomes one of Japan's most celebrated geishas. Much fan twirling and white make-up ensues...Opinion:
While not quite at the same level of "Brokeback Mountain", "Memoirs of a Geisha" created its own cloud of controversy upon release that threatened to overshadow the content of the film.
- The Japanese were upset that, for a movie based entirely in Japan about Japanese traditions, the filmmakers cast three Chinese actresses in the leads.
- The Chinese were upset that those same three actresses would be 'race traitors' and glorify the hated Japanese in a movie.
- The cultured Americans were upset that such an obvious 'foreign' film was filmed in English with Hollywood sensibilities instead of in the proper Japanese with subtitles.
- And the uncultured Americans just looked at the previews and thought: "Now...why would I want to see this movie, again?"
As is often the case, the controversy may have been more interesting than the film itself, which is pretty to look at, but relatively benign and unmemorable. It deals with a potentially interesting facet of Japanese culture that few know about, but plays more like a "Japanese Traditions for Dummies" primer--which quite predictably is not going to be deep enough for the Asian enthusiasts, yet not really accessible for the culturally ignorant either. (Roger Ebert says it thusly: "The more you know about Japan and movies, the less you will enjoy 'Memoirs...'")
Through the course of the film, we learn a few things about geisha life ("We sell our skills," says one geisha, "not our bodies." Well...except for the times where they DO sell their bodies...) Many questions remain, however: Do you call and request geishas to attend you at social events? Or do they just show up themselves and 'advertise' to potential patrons? Is the majority of their work public performances for many, or 'companionship' jobs for groups of one? And so on... A deep exposé into the details of geisha culture, this is not...
I'm familiar with 'real' Asian movies, but I still liked "Memoirs"...to a point. Yes, it should be in Japanese and be a little edgier and realistic. And it would be nice if the film didn't make all the lead actresses struggle with the unfamiliar cadences and rhythms of English in order to get the dialogue across. But, considering (a) all three Chinese leads are bigger box-office draws in Japan than any local Japanese actress, and (b) applying The Baron's Movie Corollary #158 ("NEVER turn down an excuse to cast Zhang Zi-Yi in a movie"), the casting decisions are defensible. Add in the high production values, good acting (given the language limitations) and you still get a worthwhile product, even if the purists get offended.
Some specific high points from the movie:
- Zhang Zi-Yi looks great (as always) and gives her all to the performance, even in a language where her previous experience amounted to a total of three words in "Rush Hour 2" ("Apple?"). Michelle Yeoh looks good also, especially with her hair down (did you know she's 44?), and she and Zhang basically get to reprise their big-sister-little-sister relationship from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (only without swords).
- The best part of the movie, however, is Gong Li's 'comeback', for which Asian film fans like me had been rooting for years. The talent (and looks) has always been there, but for most of the last decade it had been hidden in throwaway B-level Chinese movies and poorly written parts, ever since her divorce from director Zhang Yi-Mou in the mid-90's. Here (even in occasionally awkward English) she gives the best performance of the film as a spiteful former geisha with tremendous emotional baggage who finds herself overshadowed by the new blue-eyed arrival. Fans familiar with her previous work can even find some obvious thematic parallels with "Raise the Red Lantern", and her scene surrounded by fire in a burning building evokes the final scenes of "Ju Dou". Welcome back, Gong Li, we missed you...
Disappointments:
- Considering a geisha's primary skill set involves dancing, and you just cast Zhang Zi-Yi--an excellent dancer in her own right--for the part, I'm disappointed that there wasn't, well, more dancing in the movie. We see a few brief glimpses of some skillful dancing with fans, but no full fledged dance performance of any length, except for an "interpretive" dance number involving snow which (while artistic) doesn't nearly maximize the talent Zhang brings to the table.
- A cop-out ending of sorts: (spoilers) Sayuri spends the entire movie lamenting that she never gets what she wants, and then the movie pretty much giving her what she wants, anyway. In general, the movie alternates between trying to show how tragic the life of a geisha is, and glorifying it--and never seems to make up its mind whether it wants us to think geisha culture made Sayuri a success, or a victim. For all the voice-overs implying that geisha life was too restrictive and binding, it's obvious from the movie being a geisha gave Sayuri a far more comfortable life than many of her female peers. Was she better off when she was working long hours at the kimono plant? Hardly... Indeed, what would her life have been like if she had run away with her sister? It would almost certainly be much more difficult. and she might very well have ended up trying to scrape by as a common prostitute, instead of (at the very least) an uncommon one...
In the end, "Memoirs of a Geisha" is a pleasant experience, but not
overly noteworthy. Rent it for an evening, and then go on to more
significant Asian movies afterwards...
Content Analysis: (PG-13, 0-3-1-1 on the Baron's scale)
"Memoirs of a Geisha" provides another good example of the fundamental
difference between PG-13 and R movies. "Memoirs" is rated PG-13 for
"mature subject matter" and some sexual dialogue related to a geisha's
trade. Not for seven year olds, but nothing that adults would feel
ashamed of watching. (Sex scenes--such as they are--are off screen,
plus the one seemingly obligatory scene where a man attempts to take off
Zhang Zi-Yi's clothes by force...)
In-depth Analysis:
There are a couple of issues that seeing "Memoirs" brought to mind:Forbidden Love
A hot topic of many recent movies, especially the controversial one mentioned at top. Everyone wants to love and be loved, and it's common--in the 'grass is greener...' mindset--to wish for things (or people) that you don't have, thinking that if only things were different, you'd be happy. Is that always the case, though? Forbidden love tends to be stronger and more passionate because it's unrealized...
Fantasizing is easy, but reality doesn't always match up with what we're wishing for... In "Memoirs", both Hatsumomo and Sayuri pine for someone who is 'unobtainable'. Hatsumomo's relationship with her boyfriend may be based on genuine love and attraction, but in the case of Sayuri, she falls for "The Chairman" basically because he was nice to her one day when she was young. For the rest of the movie we see him only at a distance (as does Sayuri) so we really don't get a chance to get to know him any more than she does. He seems 'nice', certainly, but are they really a good match? Would he really be the missing link to her happiness and fulfillment...or is he just a convenient target for a young girl's fantasies--someone who's older, richer, and smiles at her more often than the other men in her life.
There's no way of knowing, because unlike a typical 'romance' movie, we see very few scenes where they interact with each other to any extent to show us that they would make a good 'couple' and thus belong together. Maybe they would make each other happy in a serious, committed relationship...or it may be that after a little while Sayuri realizes that after finally making it to the grass on the other side, it's not quite as luscious and fulfilling as she originally thought. Fantasies within one's own mind are always perfect--real life is much less so. What happens when you spend your life chasing a fantasy and realize in the end that it's not what you hoped for, after all? Especially, if in the process of chasing a dream you neglect some of the things that would actually have brought happiness and contentment to you, if you had only been paying attention...
Chastity
Key plot points of the movie are based upon Sayuri being a virgin, since it's specifically her virginity that is the highest value commodity for her to sell to the eager male populace. She is told quite directly that, were her virginity not intact, she would essentially be 'worthless' as a geisha (and, implicitly, as a woman).
The emphasis on female chastity throughout history has been a sore point for many in modern society--feminists, in particular--who have the habit of turning entirely correct observations into entirely incorrect conclusions. "It's not fair," they say, "that women are expected to be 'virtuous' and chaste in order to have any value, but men can sleep around as much as they like without criticism."
The conclusion: "Like men, women should be allowed to be as sexually active as they like without judgment or criticism"
Uh...no. The proper conclusion is not to start caring less about female chastity, but to start caring more about male chastity. That there has been a obvious double standard throughout history is unquestionable. But to conclude that women should be 'looser' in order to make up for this double standard fails to consider the objective reasons behind why anyone should be chaste to begin with. (This is like concluding that since rich women have a disproportionate access to abortion than poor women, the government needs to subsidize abortions for everyone. Don't you need to determine if abortion is right for anyone, first?)
While many churches cannot claim the same, the LDS church has fairly
consistent standards between both men and women when it comes to sexual
matters. You won't find any situations where (as far as sexual sin
goes) men are allowed to get away with more than women are. (In fact,
I suspect--especially when missionary work is involved--it is usually the opposite...)
The principles of chastity and fidelity are for everyone, and we
shouldn't let the emphasis on just the fact that a double-standard
exists overshadow the
emphasis on correct principles. (After all, "If men jumped off a cliff, would you
want to, also?")
Random Notes & Comments:
1. There may not be a Japanese equivalent to Zhang Zi-Yi or Gong Li at the moment, but keep an eye out for Suzuka Ohgo, who plays Chiyo at the age of 9. Give her ten years (and the Japanese equivalent of "Crouching Tiger..." quality leading roles to work with), and she might be a force to reckon with in the Asian film industry...
