Review of Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) by Keith M — 06 Jan 2019

This is a great film by Rob Marshall taking place during the occupation of Japan by the American Army. The first thing you will notice is how gorgeous the film looks. During the early scenes, as Sayuri and her sister are taken from their homes and separated, the film's tone and mood are perfect.

Later scenes are equally well developed. Marshall's primary aim seems to have been to make Memoirs of a Geisha look right and he succeeds in that department. However if there is one fault this film commits- it is that the Japanese actors all speak in English.

Emotionally, although Memoirs of a Geisha is not inert, it lacks the ability to wrench the viewer. There are times when it feels muted. The story offers insight into what geishas were in the "old" Japan ("not courtesans, not wives") and the "new" one ("anyone can buy a kimono and call herself a geisha") and, by extension, the kind of seismic shift undergone by Japanese culture after the war.

The central love story is more complex in the book, but Marshall distills it to its essence so the resolution is defined for cinema-goers.