Memoirs of a Geisha
Jan. 14th, 2006 08:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynI'm still pondering Memoirs of a Geisha. I went to see it last night, and while I'm glad I did, I don't think it's something that I've come out glowing about. In fact the more I think about it, the more reservations I have, which is mildly annoying as I quite enjoyed it as the time. I suspect I was probably swept along by the gorgeous visuals of the film, which were rather pleasant. No 'Hero', admittedly, but still very nice to watch.
And the film?
When I came out of the film I said that three things bothered me.
The first was that the entire film went on for five minutes too long. There was a point where I was almost impressed with the film. The heroine had lost her love, she threw away the one momento she had of him, and (slightly melodramatically) intoned 'it is not for a geisha to love. Geisha are the artists of the floating world. They are all that you desire, all that you want. The rest is all shadow'. I may be paraphrasing slightly, but I think that's close.
I sat there, and I was impressed. For a moment I loved the story - the story being one girl's growth to maturity, to an understanding of the world she inhabited with a tragic ending.
Then the film cut back to more events. Within five minutes a happy ending had been cheerily glued on (I believe it is the same ending as the book, to be fair) and I cursed the cruel god that would take away my interesting bittersweet finale. I didn't want to see it suddenly all coming together under the cherry blossom. I was also suddenly faced with a rather creepy realisation which leads me on to my second objection.
One of the central plot points of the film is that at the age of 11 Sayuri (the main character) meets the Chairman, a powerful man in his thirties/forties. He is nice to her, she falls in love with him, and so the film continues with that being her primary motivation for most of it. At the end of the film it is revealed that he has been secretly in love with her all along. Now, it might just be me, but is there not something creepy in that? He met this girl when she was eleven years old? I have a personal dislike for 'I loved him as a child and now I'm marrying him' stories. They just always strike me as a tad disturbing.
My final objection is nothing really to do with the film, and is to do with Japanese history. It's really my own personal quirk. A while ago I got hold of a book on the Rape of Nanking, which was the rape, torture and slaughter of thousands of Chinese civillians by the Japanese Army during World War II. I got interested, and read up a bit on the actions of the Japanese Army in general in Manchuria and in China during WWII.
As a summary, the Japanese Army was not, as an institution, very nice. In fact, they were pretty bad. It therefore really really messed with my mind that this film was set during the 1940s, with the romantic male lead and most of the male characters having served in Manchuria, and being involved with the ongoing war in the far east. It meant that all the shots of the Chairman as Every Girl's Little Dream - the kind, gentle, almost overly idealised man - were interposed in my head with purely fictitious scenes of him impaling little Chinese girls on bayonets. Admittedly it is not fair to say that any Japanese soldier committed war crimes, but I think it is fair to say that they were at least party to some acts of extreme brutality and the film fails to address this at all.
Actually, at the end of the film it puts in a throwaway line of 'the Americans now have taken the General away to try him for war crimes', and mostly attempts to give the impression that this is another one of those ways in which the Americans are crushing the beautiful old Japan that the film glorifies. I think this might make it worse.
I have a fourth objection which is that the scarred and slightly cold, brutal man of honour character that Sayuri keeps dodging and running away from in favour of the Chairman seems far far far sexier to me than Creepy Man Who Gives Little Girls Ice Creams For No Reason, but that is, I admit, really my own personal taste and massive fondness for cold and slightly brutal men of honour showing through.
Beyond that though, I do reiterate that it isn't an entirely bad film. Visually (and I know I've said this before) it is lovely. If you want some gorgeous cinematography, romanticsed Japanese imagery, beautiful actresses and a great amount of huge epic scenery, then go and see this film! If you liked the Last Samurai, I suspect you'll also respond to this. It's in a very similar mold re: desperate romanticisation of all things Japanese. Frankly, if you like big epic love stories you'll probably enjoy this, although there is something slightly odd about trying to turn a story which takes place in such a small and enclosed world into a big epic.
If, on the other hand, you would rather go see something that comes with unconditional recommendations,rweishaar tells me that Jarhead is stunning.
And the film?
When I came out of the film I said that three things bothered me.
The first was that the entire film went on for five minutes too long. There was a point where I was almost impressed with the film. The heroine had lost her love, she threw away the one momento she had of him, and (slightly melodramatically) intoned 'it is not for a geisha to love. Geisha are the artists of the floating world. They are all that you desire, all that you want. The rest is all shadow'. I may be paraphrasing slightly, but I think that's close.
I sat there, and I was impressed. For a moment I loved the story - the story being one girl's growth to maturity, to an understanding of the world she inhabited with a tragic ending.
Then the film cut back to more events. Within five minutes a happy ending had been cheerily glued on (I believe it is the same ending as the book, to be fair) and I cursed the cruel god that would take away my interesting bittersweet finale. I didn't want to see it suddenly all coming together under the cherry blossom. I was also suddenly faced with a rather creepy realisation which leads me on to my second objection.
One of the central plot points of the film is that at the age of 11 Sayuri (the main character) meets the Chairman, a powerful man in his thirties/forties. He is nice to her, she falls in love with him, and so the film continues with that being her primary motivation for most of it. At the end of the film it is revealed that he has been secretly in love with her all along. Now, it might just be me, but is there not something creepy in that? He met this girl when she was eleven years old? I have a personal dislike for 'I loved him as a child and now I'm marrying him' stories. They just always strike me as a tad disturbing.
My final objection is nothing really to do with the film, and is to do with Japanese history. It's really my own personal quirk. A while ago I got hold of a book on the Rape of Nanking, which was the rape, torture and slaughter of thousands of Chinese civillians by the Japanese Army during World War II. I got interested, and read up a bit on the actions of the Japanese Army in general in Manchuria and in China during WWII.
As a summary, the Japanese Army was not, as an institution, very nice. In fact, they were pretty bad. It therefore really really messed with my mind that this film was set during the 1940s, with the romantic male lead and most of the male characters having served in Manchuria, and being involved with the ongoing war in the far east. It meant that all the shots of the Chairman as Every Girl's Little Dream - the kind, gentle, almost overly idealised man - were interposed in my head with purely fictitious scenes of him impaling little Chinese girls on bayonets. Admittedly it is not fair to say that any Japanese soldier committed war crimes, but I think it is fair to say that they were at least party to some acts of extreme brutality and the film fails to address this at all.
Actually, at the end of the film it puts in a throwaway line of 'the Americans now have taken the General away to try him for war crimes', and mostly attempts to give the impression that this is another one of those ways in which the Americans are crushing the beautiful old Japan that the film glorifies. I think this might make it worse.
I have a fourth objection which is that the scarred and slightly cold, brutal man of honour character that Sayuri keeps dodging and running away from in favour of the Chairman seems far far far sexier to me than Creepy Man Who Gives Little Girls Ice Creams For No Reason, but that is, I admit, really my own personal taste and massive fondness for cold and slightly brutal men of honour showing through.
Beyond that though, I do reiterate that it isn't an entirely bad film. Visually (and I know I've said this before) it is lovely. If you want some gorgeous cinematography, romanticsed Japanese imagery, beautiful actresses and a great amount of huge epic scenery, then go and see this film! If you liked the Last Samurai, I suspect you'll also respond to this. It's in a very similar mold re: desperate romanticisation of all things Japanese. Frankly, if you like big epic love stories you'll probably enjoy this, although there is something slightly odd about trying to turn a story which takes place in such a small and enclosed world into a big epic.
If, on the other hand, you would rather go see something that comes with unconditional recommendations,
rweishaar tells me that Jarhead is stunning. 
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-01-14 10:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-14 10:47 am (UTC)I read one very wise review this morning which commented that 'Memoirs' is not really about Japan at all. It's an entirely American film, about American perceptions of Japan rather than Japan itself.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-14 01:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-14 01:53 pm (UTC)Like I said, I would recommend it. Tis very pretty, but it isn't really a reflection of any kind of real world history.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-14 11:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-15 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-15 08:14 am (UTC)