Memoirs of a geisha~

"I certainly wasn't born to the life of a geisha..."

All because of this movie i have to force myself to finish reading the Memoirs of a geisha by Author Golden...the book is reall good. it explains in detail how a life of geisha is. this book sounds like a biography, but the true fact is that the main character and the rest of the characters never exist. Interesting? thought there is such times as world war one and world war two...

Set in a mysterious exotic world, which still casts a potent spell today, Nitta Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi) tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. Despite the treacherous Hatsumomo (Gong Li) who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into a legendary geisha under the guidance of her mentor Mameha (Michelle Yeoh). Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man who is out of her reach, the mysterious Chairman (Ken Watanabe)

Well, the book is marvelous...describing every single part of the geisha story well and is truly a gripping book. Well, after 2 consecutive nights reading the book (with some sleep) i manage to finish the book before going for the movies with some people...

I was really expecting this movie to be a really good one, based on the fact that it is directed by the director of Chicago, Rob Marshall, and a very strong cast and crew-- Steven Speilberg as the film producer, actresses such as Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh(she is buatan Malaysia you know!! Hail Malaysians!! B proud of her!!), Ken Watanabe and some others...

And after some time waiting u will hear a very familiar voice which indicates the start of the movie...

"A story like mine has never been told"

Well i just sit there watching the movie for 2 hrs i guess..not sure thou but if u dont want to be lost in the movie my advise is to read the book before u enter the cinema...or else u will never know what the heck is this movie all about.

Actresses are pretty la...the acting is erm...so so... It muz be because of all the very crappy english from Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li. FYI, Michelle Yeoh speaks perfect english. Hey she is once a Bond girl you know =) But i like the way they make those actress plays the role. In the book, Hatsumomo is supposed to be the evil one to torture and bully our innocent-looking-grey-eyed main character Sakamoto Chiyo. And i think Gong Li plays well as Hatsumomo and so is Zhang Ziyi. 'Bout Mameha...erm not bad la...based on the fact that she is Sayuri's mentor so she is a geisha who has to look more like a mother of Sayuri and i think she did well.

Bout the selection of scenes....hmmm..they did good. I like the part where Sayuri stands at the top of a mountain that one...damn nice...but the problem is right i cannot find that part in the book...lol.

After the book and the movie i think i have seen more of a japanese culture than before. Well the critics dont think so. but this is my personal thinking~~

But i think the part where Sayuri is dancing looks a little too exaggerating ald. She dances well, but the way she dance is damn scary though i have to say it really catch your attention. What i think is that it is suppose to look sweet so that you will see the beauty of a geisha. but in the book, as sayui is mentioned as a geisha who can express sadness and those type of feelings in the heart so i guess that's why the dance is like that. But i have to say, when u watch her dance, u can actually feel the sadness she is expressing. Good dancer~~

Anyway the book is great, the movie is good too...so if you have the time this is a movie which is worth watching. I will ensure you the money u pay to watch this is worth as long as you have read the book, or else you will have no idea what is that Zhang Ziyi talking(oops a little too exaggerating) But if u read the book before you watch the movie i think it is more worth it.

Kudos to the cast and crew for making this movie such a good movie!!!!