Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Director:

Rob Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Robin Swicord (screenplay)
Arthur Golden (book)

Release Date:

23 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

Plot Keywords:

Geisha | Japan | Jealousy | Love | Coming Of Age

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Suzuka Ohgo	...	Chiyo
Togo Igawa	...	Tanaka
Mako	...	Sakamoto
Samantha Futerman	...	Satsu
Elizabeth Sung	...	Sakamoto's Wife
Thomas Ikeda	...	Mr. Bekku
Li Gong	...	Hatsumomo (as Gong Li)
Tsai Chin	...	Auntie
Kaori Momoi	...	Mother
Zoe Weizenbaum	...	Young Pumpkin
David Okihiro	...	Shamisen Teacher
Miyako Tachibana	...	Dance Teacher
Kotoko Kawamura	...	Granny
Karl Yune	...	Koichi
Eugenia Yuan	...	Korin

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature subject matter and some sexual content.

Runtime:

145 min | Philippines:140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | UK:12A | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Ireland:12A | Czech Republic:12 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Indonesia:Dewasa | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:14 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Canada Video Rating/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | France:Unrated | France:U | Singapore:NC-16 (special edition DVD) | Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41007) | China:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

American River, Sacramento, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Julyana Soelistyo was once considered for the role of Pumpkin.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Sayuri is the Year of the Monkey, not the Rooster.

Quotes:

Mother: [talleying up little Chiyo's costs, after her fall] Doctor Mora is very expensive. You seem to be racking up quite a debt. Kimono, destroyed. Train ticket, Mr. Bekku, rice and pickles, geisha school, and on top of the money I paid Mr. Tanaka. And for what?... And now I hear your sister has run away. She didn't wait for you and now she can never come back. You must forget you ever had a sister.
[handing her a bundled package]
Mother: We are your only family now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Von Trapped (#8.10)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Tsugaru Jyangara Bushi

more than everyone is saying

personally, i don't know what everyone was so anxious about before viewing this movie. i had heard a lot of praise about the cinematography and the depth and emotion of the storyline. who cares if the actors were of different race? i know a lot of people will take offense to that, but being an Asian-American myself, it didn't bother me too much, since it wasn't what i thought of while watching the movie. who has time to think of different dialects and someone being Chinese when a beautiful story of the life of a geisha is being told.

i thought maybe the movie would not live up to the book, but i felt the adaptation was done well. although some of the casting could have been done better, i got chills from mother, angry at hatsumomo, and grew respect for the character of mameha, just as i had from the book. the movie did a fine job establishing the highly disciplined world of a geisha, a world where many sacrifices are to be made.

all in all, the movie was fantastic, and if people could just look beyond the issue of worrying about the nationality of a character who is supposed to be Japanese (and to me, its not a huge issue) I'm sure you will enjoy the movie.