Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

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

Director:

Rob Marshall

Writers:

Robin Swicord (screenplay), Arthur Golden (book)

Stars:

Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh

Won 3 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 47 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

Storyline

In the 1920s, 9-year-old Chiyo gets sold to a geisha house. There, she is forced into servitude, receiving nothing in return until the house's ruling hierarchy determines if she is of high enough quality to service the clientele -- men who visit and pay for conversation, dance and song. After rigorous years of training, Chiyo becomes Sayuri, a geisha of incredible beauty and influence. Life is good for Sayuri, but World War II is about to disrupt the peace.

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | geisha | japan | jealousy | 1920s | 

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Taglines:

A world of mystery threatened by destruction.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

After her first encounter with the Chairman, Chiyo is shown running from the hanamachi of Gion, through the red Torii gate trails of Fushimi Inari to a shrine where she gives coins as an offering. In reality, not only is Fushimi Inari several miles from Gion, and therefore an inconceivable location for a small girl to make a round trip to on foot, its gates form a circuitous path on the side of a mountain and do not lead anywhere outside the shrine itself.

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Quotes

Nobu: There is nothing I want more, Sayuri, than to become your danna.
Sayuri Nitta: I already owe you far too much.
[turns away]
Nobu: I will not be refused.
Sayuri Nitta: Please.
Nobu: We are tied to each other. I know you feel it too.
Sayuri Nitta: I never meant to mislead you.
Nobu: [Grabs Sayuri] Sayuri, I do not like things held up before me that I cannot have...

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Crazy Credits

No studio logos are shown at the beginning. They however appear shortened after the end credits and are accompanied by the film's score.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Forbidden Love Movies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Bei Mir Bist Du Schon (Means That You're Grand)
(1933)
Written by Jacob Jacobs and Sholom Secunda
English Lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin (1937)
Performed by The Andrews Sisters
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A Top-Notch Eye Candy

Can a group of American men and Chinese actresses render the world of a Japanese geisha? The answer is yes, with stunning beauty … and regrettable flaws.

Truth be told, this movie was not as bad as its trailer led me to expect it to be. It had a story to tell (although it crumbles in the end),images to show, and material to present. There were ample displays of exquisite beauty -- the trailing tails of silk kimonos, the subtle allure of hand gestures, and the captivating scene of kabuki dance theater ...

On the other hand, the American director was not able to pull the Japanese out of Chinese actresses. (This movie was so crowded by famous Chinese idols that I found myself inadvertently searching for Joan Chen among the cast.) To be fair, all three main actors (Gong Li in particular) show strong performances that made me sympathetic to Rob Marshall's choices. However, they remain utterly Chinese throughout this movie. The look and accent are not the only problems. They lacked the kind of extreme femininity and excessive felicity of the delicately mechanical gesture and movements of traditional Japanese ladies you see in custom dramas of Japanese production. (Michelle Yeoh seems to be the only one trying a little bit of those, but it did not quite work for some reason.)

So, let me re-address the question: Can a group of American men and Chinese actresses render the world of a geisha? The answer, I guess, really depends on what you are looking for. If you would like a little bit of delight from an aesthetically pleasing picture with a dubious authenticity and realism, this movie delivers it. I would not say Rob Marshall failed completely. Memoirs of a Geisha is not the first, nor the last, movie that subjects another culture to the crude lens of American exoticism. It definitely is not the worst one.

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA Japan France

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Memoirs of a Geisha

Filming Locations:

American River, Sacramento, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$682,504, 11 December 2005

Gross USA:

$57,490,508

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$162,242,962

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1