It’s a done thing – a movie that is based on a book is very
rarely able to do justice to it. Ditto the movie ‘ Memoirs of a
Geisha’. The filmmakers usually have a lot of constraints and boundaries
and thereby they end up choosing what they think is the crux of the
book and make the movie. That is the reason, the emotions a book can
elicit, sometimes the movie cannot.
If you
have read the book and then are watching this movie, then after every few scenes
you’ll be like, ‘arre they missed that, ’ ‘so much isn’t shown’ etc…
I have the DVD and watched it long after I had read the book. It is a
moving story about a little village girl Chiyo and how she becomes the
famous geisha, Sayuri. I had wept while reading the book but that
surge of emotion was not present while viewing the movie.
Ziyi Zhang, was petal fresh, delicate and with the blue-gray
contact lens looked very Sayuri. Ken Watanabe looked every bit the
subtle and restrained gentleman, as the
Chariman. Koji Yakusho as Nobu played the part of the sensitive,
not-so-good-looking, friend of Sayuri and the Chariman.
You should watch this movie for its visual splendour. The breathtaking cinematography helps transport you
completely into the enchanting world of the geisha district of Gion, Kyoto.
The sets are quite detailed and the elaborate, colourful
costumes deserve a special mention. The bright kimono worn by the geisha look
fascinating and lend a different dimension to the entire setting.
No wonder the movie won the Oscar for Best Costume Design and Art Direction.
Some of the scenes in the movie are beautiful, even those scenes that are not a part of the book.
Chiyo Sayuri’s life and her emotions are bared open by her
first person account of her life. As the narrator she takes us through her
life’s journey on how she became a renowned geisha and survived the
World War II and the Great Depression to be united in the end with her love.