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

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 Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | 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:

Because none of the Japanese rickshaws were large enough for the two women to be comfortably seated next to each other, the rickshaw used for the scenes in which Mameha and Sayuri travel together in one carriage was manufactured in California, using wheels and axles shipped in from Japan.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Chiyo/Sayuri and Pumpkin are listening on Mrs. Nitta and Mameha's discussion of Chiyo's future, and the camera zooms in on the girls' eyes peering through the crack in the door, Chiyo's eyes move very fast and you can clearly see Chiyo's blue contact, since it does not move with the rest of her eye.

Quotes:

Mameha: [speaking of Nobu] What is he to think? He safeguarded your life.
Sayuri Nitta: So now he owns it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Disaster Movie (2008)

Soundtrack:

Plum Flower and a Soldier

Should have been simpler

My main criticism is choice of actors. I won't go into small details of the film that I found inaccurate (and there are several). But the issue I have is with the language of the film. If you're doing an English film, choose actors who can perform with solid, fluent, un-coached English; the dialogue of the film often sounded forced and melodramatic. The obvious solution would have been to do the film in Japanese; I know the argument that the book was in English, but the story is in Japan, and if you're going to hire foreign actors you might as well do it in a foreign language. The production would have cost less and would have been more profitable in the long run, possibly even an academy award contender. The dialogue and direction otherwise was good; it was just the choice of language that was central to the movie's failure.