A Geisha (1953) User Reviews

The Secret Heart of an Imperfect Film

[heliotropetwo · 9/10 · 16 July 2006]

There may be an element of atonement in Mizoguchi's films about exploited women. It is most powerful in "Street of Shame" but plays a role in "Gion bayashi" as well. The exploiters are bad indeed, though Mizoguchi gives them humanizing motivations; the exploited, while not too good to be true, are much better than most of the people I know.

What makes this visually beautiful film unforgettable and worthy of repeated viewing is, first, the evolving relationship between Older and Younger Sister, which is sufficiently imitative of life to satisfy the most rigorous champion of Kurosawa's "Lower Depths." As life happens, these two women evolve. It is this evolution which is the secret heart of "Gion Festival Music." Second, importantly, it is the nuanced, understated, but heroic performance of Michiyo Kogure as Miyoharu. Her artistry becomes manifest when her character portrait here is compared to her equally successful role of Taeko in Ozu's "Flavor of Green Tea over Rice," made the year before. The two women could not be more different, and she accomplishes the differences with bare flickers of change across her face and almost imperceptible alterations in body language.

These qualities inspire me to forgive the overly schematic plot and excessively contrasting portraits of the very good and the very bad.

At the end "Gion Festival Music," "A Geisha," or whatever title translation one wishes to use, is not principally about the cruel exploitation of women. The film has a secret. It is a love story. And I love this movie.

Where Will You Go?

[boblipton · 8/10 · 18 August 2020]

Ayako Wakao visits Michiyo Kogure. Like Miss Kogure, Miss Wakao's mother was a geisha, and now she wishes to be an apprentice. After sorting through the girl's situation, including a father who's impoverished, Miss Kogure accepts her old friend's daughter. The expense is managed by a loan from the woman who runs the largest tea house in town, and Miss Wakao seems to have a brilliant future in front of her.... until she bites a client who tries to rape her.

Kenji Mizoguchi's movie is not actually about Miss Wakao, who at 20 appears to be half a dozen years younger. It is about the elegant Miss Kogure and the discovery.... no, the re-awakening of her revulsion at the dirty side of what is supposed to be an elegant business. At the time, a 15-year veteran of the movies, she had entered at the same age Miss Wakao was now, and had lately been playing major character roles, like the acidic wife in THE FLAVOR OF GREEN TEA OVER RICE. Here, it's a pleasure to watch her grow as a human being in Mizoguchi's always outraged phillipic about the poor position of women in old Japan and new.

A visual feast, although not Mizoguchi's best

[fa-oy · 7/10 · 30 June 2012]

Kenji Mizoguchi, an important figure in the history of Japanese cinema, is very well known for his collaboration on the portrayal of Japanese women on screen; one of the first reasons for this being his sister, who was sold to a geisha house by his father's decision. This highly contributed to his attachment to highlighting women on his films.

This is another film where geishas and their lives are involved. The story concerns one geisha and her apprentice, who is supposed to have the will to take the training into full practice and seriousness. Everything seemed fine when the training was in process, but when it came to conclusion, Eiko (the apprentice) had to debut as a geisha, but could not bring herself to accept her chosen client. Likewise, Miyoharu (Eiko's trainer), finds trouble when rejecting a client in love with her. Both rejected clients happened to be wealthy businessmen important to the geisha house where they worked, thus finding problems from there on.

While the film may not be Mizoguchi's best, I can assure it is a wonderful joy to behold its cinematography. The camera positions and movements are just something to appreciate, accompanied by a totally honest and credible acting by pretty much every actor/actress involved.

If you have liked everything you have seen from this wonderful director, there is absolutely not any reason why you should not get your hands on this film.

My score: 7.5/10

Superb, subtle Mizoguchi drama

[fwmurnau · 29 July 2004]

I liked this better than the more schematic SISTERS OF THE GION. This story of an established geisha who takes on a younger one as a sort of apprentice has engaging characters and a quiet, low-key, intimate realism that's highly effective.

Since it's Mizoguchi, you know the direction, casting, lighting, sets, framing -- all the mise en scene -- are exquisitely sensitive and artistic. The acting is excellent, subtle and believable. Everything is "right", one might even say "perfect" -- an adjective one is tempted to apply to this director's work at its best. Every shot is beautifully, often breath-takingly conceived and executed.

The glimpses this film gives of the rigorous training and daily life of traditional geishas are a big plus that adds greatly to its interest.

Mizoguchi made poetry with a movie camera, and I would call A GEISHA one of his best films.

A snapshot in time

[GyatsoLa · 8/10 · 13 July 2009]

Another fine contemporary movie from Mizoguchi, as so often with his films, focusing on womens lives. This is a partial remake of his earlier 'Sisters of Gion', although the commentary in my Masters of Cinema DVD version suggests that the studio made him tone down the original script as they did not want their new star, Ayako Wakao, to play a 'bad girl' as was originally intended.

The film is set in the mid 1950's, as the traditional Gion Geisha quarter in Kyoto is under pressure from the massive changes in Japan at the time. Old traditions are dying, there is greater pressure for the girls to indulge in what is essentially prostitution. Both customers and young geisha are less interested in the old formalities. A young girl, the daughter of a geisha and a failing businessman begs an older geisha to take her on and train her. The girl has a funny mixture of ambition and dignity, proud of her status (she insists on wearing her full geisha outfit even to a regular bar), while refusing to 'do what is necessary' with a rich patron. The older woman is caught between her desire to protect the girl and the economic necessities of the time. The 'sisterhood' of Gion - the older, dominant Geisha, use their influence and power to put huge pressure on her to call the young girl to heel.

There are some indications that Mizoguchi's heart wasn't entirely in this film. It is shot quite conventionally by his standards and lacks his trademark visual skills and experimentation. But it is beautifully acted by the whole cast and the insight into the lives of the geisha at the time appears very convincing and real (who can say for sure if it is or not?). It isn't quite as good as his later 'Street of Shame', but its still a fine film and well worth watching.

The Masters of Cinema version (region 2) version that I saw sell it as a 'double DVD' with the brilliant Sansho the Bailiff. The whole package is superb, well worth buying.

A GEISHA is after all, one of Mizoguchi's best and rightly deserves the garland

[lasttimeisaw · 8/10 · 7 July 2017]

A GEISHA is Miyagawa's late stage threnody with regard to those he has been steadily paying commiserations through his formidable cannon, namely, ordinary lives on the low-rung.

The English title may misguide audience by implying a young geisha's Bildungsroman in the Post- WWII Japan, that is quite right, but it only constitutes half of the story. In the beginning we are introduced to a 16-year-old Eiko (Wakao), arrives in Kyoto's Gion district and entreats named geisha Miyoharu (Kogure) to take her in as an apprentice. Eiko is saddled with her own tale of woe, his mother, a formal geisha and Miyoharu's friend, died young, her father Sawamoto (Shindô), a businessman on his irretrievable downturn, doesn't want anything to do with her. So being a geisha is her only outlet in this callous world and she takes great pride in this line-of-work, which is referred as "living works of art, intangible cultural assets" by her trainer, and resolves to not let anything cripple her work ethic, which means she will do best to please her patrons but will not be foisted into prostitution. She knows nothing about the delicate sex politics of the demimonde, so we need another character to tread into the underbelly.

Miyoharu, who gives us a first impression of materialistic and impassive when she rebuffs a client who cannot afford her service (for three months indeed), lends herself on a mother-sister figure towards the young and imprudent Eiko, and through her tactful mediation and altruistic deeds, she manages to give Eiko a decent debut merely after one-year of training, and immediately Eiko gets the attention of the district's biggest patron Kusuda (Kawazu), who is habitually prefers new blood, whereas Kanzaki (Koshiba), Kusuda's young business associate, has a different taste in women, and takes a liking to Miyoharu.

Only if both Eiko and Miyoharu would settle for these unsavory but finance-secured arrangements, there would be no kerfuffle ensuing. What happens next is inevitable when Eiko violently offends Kusuda's advances and puts their livelihood in jeopardy. Some ruffled feathers must be smoothed, and Sawamoto's gnarly advent to solicit money rubs salt into their affliction, what alternative do they have? The ending will have its say, as profound as it is poignant. What ultimately striking a chord in A GEISHA is Mizoguchi's deeply affectionate manifesto of the strength between two women, they are not consanguineous, yet, their rapport is so transcendentally dignified and soul- stirring because sometimes life could be hell but that shouldn't be the end of it, no despair needed when we can hold each other's hands and solider on.

Scale-wise, A GEISHA is on the lightweight end in Mizoguchi's yardstick, but nonetheless peppered with compositional circumspection and gifted with superlative emotional repercussions predicated on a string of prominent performances: Michiyo Kogure is beguilingly versatile which sounds like a lesser statement, checking the scenes where she wonderfully lets on courtesy, empathy, scorn and compassion alternatively when facing off an equally competent Eitarô Shindô as the grasping, repugnant Sawamoto, that is some fine acting chops; a callow Ayako Wakao is also well-attuned to Eiko's characteristics, not a soft touch as she appears and lastly, a shout-out to Chieko Naniwa, who inhabits herself so naturally as Madame Okimi, a woman who can commandeer the whole district on her say-so on top of her ever-pleasant-and-earnest camouflage. A GEISHA is after all, one of Mizoguchi's best and rightly deserves the garland.

The Life of a Geisha

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 22 June 2013]

In the post-war, the sixteen year-old teenager Eiko (Ayako Wakao) seeks out the geisha Miyoharu (Michiyo Kogure) in the district of Gion, in Kyoto asking her to be a "maiko" (apprentice of geisha). Eiko explains that her mother, who was a geisha and Miyoharu's friend, has just passed away; her father Sawamoto (Eitarô Shindô) has failed in business; and her uncle is harassing her.

Miyoharu is a warm-hearted woman and accepts to train her. One year later, Eiko's father refuses to be her guarantor and Miyoharu borrows a large amount from the tea-house owner Okimi (Chieko Naniwa) to buy her kimono and debut in a party. Miyoharu changes Eiko's name to Miyoe and introduces the teenager to clients as her sister. Soon Miyoharu is charged for the money but neither she nor Miyoe wants to have patrons.

"Gion bayashi", a.k.a. "A Geisha", shows the life of geisha in the early 50's as exploited women without other alternative in life but pleasing clients, no matter how abusive they can be. The cruel system imposes an initial debt of a large amount to someone in order that the woman becomes slave of the "tea-house owner', or a businessman that may become his "patron" and is almost impossible to leave the prostitution. Both lead characters are strong women bowed by the system. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available.

Commerce and sex

[lreynaert · 10/10 · 1 July 2013]

This movie by Kenji Mizoguchi treats one of his favorite themes: the living conditions of the geishas, here in modern Japan.

The main character in this movie is a maiko (a young apprentice geisha), sponsored by an older 'sister'. After becoming herself a geisha, the maiko doesn't accept the former rules of the game anymore. She doesn't want to sell her body to anyone or everywhere. On the other hand, the madam of the geisha house doesn't like to lose important customers. At the same time, her 'older sister' becomes an important pawn in a corruption case. A customer of a company refuses to sign a major contract, a matter of life or death for the company, if he doesn't get the geisha's favors and become her 'protector'. She has to choose between her material and her emotional (sexual) interests.

This intimate film is a critical analysis of the status of women in a Japanese society dominated by males, who believe that everything is permitted, especially with women who are bound by debts to their houses and their bosses. Kenji Mizoguchi directed this movie impeccably. Highly recommended.

lacks the strength of Mizoguchi's historical dramas

[maerte · 7/10 · 2 August 2000]

In fact Mizoguchi's historical dramas like "Saikaku ichidai onna" deserve more attention than this movie.

The fate of the two Geisha' is described too much in a text book manner "let's see the culture clash" in post war Japan. Thus the protagonists lack any psychological depth and they are rather symbols for tendencies than persons. Similar sujets have been dealt with by Ozu with much more artistic skill and of course, humour.

As a "typical" Japanese film , however, it is produced with enormous diligence regarding the mise en scene.

Therefore (7/10)

Not that well-known but essential nevertheless.

[MOscarbradley · 9/10 · 28 June 2023]

Kenji Mizoguchi's splendid "Gion Bayashi" begins like a docu-drama on the role of the geisha in Japanese society before turning into the kind of melodrama you might expect from Douglas Sirk. Eiko is the 16 year old trainee geisha and Miyoharu is the older, more experienced geisha who, as a friend of Eiko's late mother, takes her under her wing and who develops a strong, sisterly bond with her.

Few male directors could have handled this material with the empathy Mizoguchi brings to the subject. Men are basically secondary characters and are mostly seen as predators and Mizoguchi draws wonderful performances from his largely female cast and in particular from Michiyo Kogure as the unfortunate Miyoharu. If the film is not as well-known as some of the director's other works it remains absolutely essential nevertheless.

Excellent

[Billiam-4 · 7/10 · 13 May 2022]

This elegantly photographed tragedy conveys and condemns female exploitation and suppression in Japanese society; the ensemble is excellent and the settings wonderfully detailed.

Memoirs Of A Geisha

[mmallon4 · 8/10 · 18 June 2022]

The world of the geisha is one of lies, a world in which they are selling a fantasy. As Miyoharu (Michiyo Kogure) states in the film's opening, "A geisha's lie is not a real lie. It's a cornerstone of our profession" - this foreshadows what is to come in Kenji Mizoguchi's Gion Bayashi (aka A Geisha or literally translated to Gion Music Festival) - the definitive treatment on geisha life in early post-war Japan and one of the most insightful cinematic representations of Japan's iconic female performers (although I would call the 1962 American film My Geisha my favourite film on the profession, albeit a more comical and light-hearted take). A Geisha is an economic film at only 85 minutes long and entirely set within the confines of the Gion (only leaving for one scene set in a Tokyo apartment). The film is full of Mizoguchi's favoured use of long, uncut takes and even channels of his inner Ozu with a number of shots reminiscent of that other great Japanese filmmaker. However, no geisha in the film are seen wearing the iconic white face makeup but we do see the makeup applied to the shoulders and neck. Is this absence of face makeup due to the black & white cinematography? Although considering the colourful nature of the geisha's kimonos, that alone could be reason alone for A Geisha to be one film which could have benefited from colour cinematography.

Considered a loose remake of Mizoguchi's earlier film Sisters Of The Gion, both chronicle a pair of geishas living under the same roof and encountering difficult personal circumstances. In both films, the pair share a sister relationship (with the pair in the earlier film being actual blood sisters) in which the older geisha is more traditional and the younger less so, of whom ends up rebelling against the system. Otherwise, the stories of both films go their own way, with the two women in A Geisha struggling to refuse the sexual advances of men in order to survive. This raises the question - are geisha prostitutes or have they ever been? The official answer is no. However when researching how often in the past have geisha engaged in sexual acts and have there ever been periods in which they were expected to, albeit, via unwritten rules as seen in A Geisha, I can't find a clear answer. In one of the pivotal scenes in A Geisha, Eiko, the young trainee geisha (or maiko) is being informed about the rights granted to her under MacArthur's constitution by the mother of the geisha house, Okimi (Chieko Naniwa). Eiko asks whether it is an infringement on her rights for a client to force himself upon her of which Okimi tries to sidestep the question and eventfully gives the reluctant answer of "in principle, yes". The answer however is clearly the opposite and this culture of corruption is enabled by the mother of the house in which these women have to engage on the geisha casting couch in order to get ahead. Is A Geisha an accurate depiction of the profession in the early 1950s and thus did it have any impact? A Geisha can also be considered part of a late-career trilogy of the films by Mizoguchi focusing on prostitution including Woman In The Rumor and Street Of Shame.

Eiko is a post-war child, she is a Frank Serpico-like figure, determined to follow a righteous path. Eiko lives under the same roof as the older and less rebellious geisha Miyoharu (Michiyo Kogure), of whom the generational gap between the two is apparent while Eiko's hardness serves as a counterpoint to the more delicate nature of Miyoharu. The terribly underrated Michiyo Kogure radiates elegance and has such a gentle nature to her as well as the ability to express vulnerability in her body language as the older of the two geisha (Kogure is sadly all but forgotten now with only a handful of her films being available in the west). Miyoharu and Eiko are the only two figures of dignity and virtue in a film full of morally defunct individuals including men who aren't afraid to assault women, an uncle who demands Eiko sleep with him, Eiko's deadbeat father and the aforementioned mother of the geisha house. Furthermore, the relationship between the two women is one of the film's most fascinating aspects. There is much affection between the duo to the point in which Miyoharu becomes a mother figure to Eiko as she comes to symbolise Miyoharu's own lost youth and innocence, about which she becomes increasingly protective. This is reflected in her clear apprehension and agitation at the prospect of Eiko actually sleeping with a client and although ambiguous, there are suggestions that Miyoharu is attracted to Eiko. Miyoharu is shown to have an aversion toward physical contact with any of the men in the film nor does she have a patron despite being a geisha for a number of years. In the final scene, it's evident that Miyoharu's feelings towards Eiko go beyond maternal feelings and she even offers to become Eiko's patron, of which it is declared earlier in the film that a geisha's patron is also her lover. In the end, it's a matter of interpretation whether the relationship was homosexual or a platonic love.

The most pivotal scene in A Geisha is that set in a Tokyo apartment, in which Eiko resists the advances of the man Kusuda (Seizaburo Kawazu) who attempts to rape her as she badly injures him in her resistance. The incident not only results in the two geisha becoming ostracized and unable to find work, they unwittingly become pawns regarding a deal worth 80 million yen between a business and the government. The only way for their career's to be restored and have pre-existing debts paid off is for Miyoharu to sleep with a man (Kanji Koshiba) who has been offering to be her patron. Watching a woman getting prepared for a sexual act she is uncomfortable taking part in is not pleasant viewing, especially when the man himself unnervingly tells Miyoharu, "you just have to close your eyes. In exchange, I promise to guarantee your future". From the film's opening shot of Eiko navigating the maze of streets to find Miyoharu's house, the Gion itself can be viewed as a metaphor for these women have no exit through this labyrinth - the film paints a picture of a life which feels like it isn't far from indentured servitude. The young geisha trainees are told that they represent the beauty of Japan to foreigners and that they are "living works of art", but as Miyoharu states in the beginning - "A geisha's lie is not a real lie. It's a cornerstone of our profession".

A good drama that would've been bold for its time.

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 7/10 · 19 March 2024]

A Geisha is a direct title, and A Geisha is a direct movie. It follows a geisha training a much younger woman in the trade, and then once they're both geishas, the younger one starts to doubt certain traditions within such a lifestyle, and there's a little conflict that comes from all that, though it mostly stays surprisingly grounded throughout. Not a lot happens, as seems to be the case with a good many Kenji Mizoguchi films I've seen, but its simplicity tends to work nonetheless.

I wasn't in the ideal mood to watch a movie of this kind tonight, but there was still enough to appreciate here. Tackling this kind of premise at all in the 1950s feels a little shocking to me, and I can compare that feeling to the one I got last night watching another ahead-of-its-time film from the same decade: Tea and Sympathy.

As for Mizoguchi films, I feel like this might've been one of his better ones. I'm never really itching to dive back into his filmography wholeheartedly, but I find Japanese cinema interesting enough that I guess, in time, I'll continue chipping away at it (Sansho the Bailiff remains the best, at least to me... maybe my coldest take ever).

A carbon-copy of other movies by this same director and the last chance I'll ever give him from now on

[TooKakkoiiforYou_321 · 1/10 · 9 October 2021]

Like in some metal bands who make the same music over and over and over resulting in albums being a carbon-copy of one another, this hack clearly was so obsessed with prostitutes and geishas (because clearly the directors at large of this era were not enough obsessed with the matter by themselves) that he made the same BORING movie over and over and over and over. You've seen one of them, you've seen them all, to the point of even having the starting credits floating over the city where the movie takes place. Streets of Shame = A Geisha =Women of the Night, you change the name the ending experience is exactly the same. Avoid.

Masterpiece takes an extraordinary visual style from a feminist view of the life of a geisha.

[eminkl · 8/10 · 21 November 2019]

As they decide to turn down two of their customers, a professional geisha and her apprentice chose unexpectedly to defy traditionalism. Perhaps one of Mizoguchi's most universally accessible films on Geishas theme and one that has definitely become the archetype for films dealing with such topics. The Japanese filmmaker had become very experienced at this stage and was able to deliver a compelling feminist drama full of defiance and protest against traditionalism's stubbornness and the suffering and misogyny that women sometimes have to endure.

a very unsettling film--just as the writers intended

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 13 June 2005]

This is the story of a woman who becomes a Geisha. She is never given any choice and she becomes a virtual slave to the system. In essence, its as if the was sold to the owner of the stable of Geishas. Then, after all her training and money spent making her the perfect host and performer, her "owner" expects the girl to pay her back by sleeping with her clients--whether or not she finds them repellent or not. The girl objects and is abused and threatened until she complies. A TOUGH movie to watch, indeed.

This movie is diametrically opposed to the documentaries I have seen about the lives of Geishas. They portray the women as entertainers and say they do NOT sleep with the clients--unless, of course, one agrees to do this on her own. This may be true now, but I know that this was not always the case--particularly with women the Japanese kidnapped from Korea and other parts to be "comfort women"--less "Geishas" with all their training but more glorified prostitutes.

A very unusual and interesting film that will also tug at your heartstrings for this poor girl.

Among his best

[fritzlangville · 9/10 · 30 April 2024]

This is definitely one of Mizoguchi's greatest achievments. The character arch of the younger Geisha apprenticing to the older more expereinced one is fully realized. The dynamic of having the modern younger woman rebelling against the old ways rings true. Excellent performances all around. I have now seen Michiyo Kogure in several movies: The Drunken Angel; The Story of Madame Yuki; Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice; Street of Shame; and now A Geisha. I have to say that her range is quite impressive. And for this reason she's replaced my previous favourite actress Setsuko Hara. Setsuko is wonderful of course but basically plays the same role each time. Michiyo Kogure is different in every film. She even looks different each time. A Geisha is aptly titled as it is the most accurate depiction I've seen of what a Geisha's life is actually like. Beautifully photographed with a setting that comes alive for the viewer. The only flaw is perhaps the rather abrupt ending. Otherwise this is an excellent film.

Film about the dark side of the profession of Geisha

[frankde-jong · 8/10 · 27 September 2021]

Just as Akira Kurosawa Kenji Mizoguchi alternated films situated in the Middle ages with films situated in present time (that is, his present time). "Ugetsu Monogatari" (1953) and "Sansho dayu" (1954) are two well known films situated in the Middle ages, "A geisha / Gion bayashi" (1954) plays in the entertainment district Gion of Kyoto after the Second World war.

In 1936 Mizoguchi already made another film playing in this district with "Sisters of the Gion / Gion no shimai". Both films are Geisha films but both films are very different from each other and in their turn both of them are also very different from probably the most well known Geisha film of them all "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005, Rob Marshall).

In both "Sisters of the Gion" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" there is a conflict between the Geisha's. In "Memoirs of a Geisha" this is a generation conflict, the younger Geisha's conquering clients from their more experienced but older collaegues. In "Sisters of the Gion" there is a conflict of characters, two Geisha's having different views on men and the way to treat their clients.

In "A Geisha" however there is no conflict between the older and the younger Geisha. The relation between the two is that of a master and her companion. In this respect the film resembles "Red beard" (1965, Akira Kurosawa), a resemblace on which I shall later spend a word or two.

Central to "A geisha" is in my opinion the development of the profession of Geisha. Important in this respect is that "A Geisha" plays after the Second World war while the other two films mentioned above are situated before this war.

Originally a Geisha was a highly cultural lady companion. The training to become a Geisha was severe and long. Over time and certainly after the Second World war Geisha's more and more became prostitutes in disguise. The dream of the young companion is to become an old school type of Geisha. After she has finished her training it is a great shock for her that the man who financed her education wants to use her "in the modern way". After all she has been just an "investment object".

I mentioned earlier the resemblance to "Red beard". In "Red beard" there is a master - companion relationship between two physicians. The young physician wants above all to make a lot of money but his master teaches him that the essence of the profession lies in helping their patients. In "A Geisha" on the other hand the young Geisha starts with high spirits only to find out that her business is ruled by money. She thereby shares in the disappointment of her master, who initially had tried to frighten her away from the training and speaks of "the dark side of the profession".