Today we are going to be talking about Memoirs of a Geisha.
I first caught this movie on tv, I think. And since then I've probably watched it four times. I never get tired of the storyline surprisingly. Maybe because it's set in Asia and hits a little closer to home. Or maybe because there's a chance that this has probably already happened in real life. It's possible right? But maybe without the happy ending.
Here we go.
So the movie is set in Japan and it's basically about this young girl, Chiyo, who was kidnapped and sent to an okiya (Geisha house). She is treated unkindly by the people in the okiya, especially so by Hatsumomo, the head geisha.
Initially, Chiyo had been studying to be a geisha. But after attempting to escape from the okiya to meet her sister, she was forced to become a slave to the okiya in order to pay back her debt. Quietly, she goes about her duties obediently but unhappily.
One day, she meets a stranger on a bridge and he buys her a snowcone when she sees how sad she is. Having been used to so much unkindness in the world, she is touched by his generosity. She sees that he is accompanied by a geisha and she vows to become one herself. He leaves her with a handkerchief and some money.
Instead of spending the money, she runs to the temple and gives the money as an offering. She prays that she will become a geisha and that she and the stranger will one day meet again. She also keeps the handkerchief safe and hidden in her room.
Years later, her wishes finally come true. Hatsumomo's rival, Mameha, takes Chiyo under her wing and trains her to become a geisha within months. She plans to do this so that Chiyo is able to pay back her debt to mother and the okiya. At this point of the movie, Mameha's intentions are not made clear. It is during this time that Chiyo changes her name to Sayuri and is reunited with the stranger, who happens to be Mameha's friend, the Chairman.
But because geisha's are not free to love, Sayuri must keep her love secret.
Also, the Chairman's friend, Nobu san, is slowly growing feelings for her.
To become a full geisha, Sayuri must first sell her virginity to the highest bidder. Mameha starts a bidding war between a few gentlemen (Doctor Crab and Nobu) so that Sayuri's virginity can be sold for an extremely high price. However, Hatsumomo interferes and ruins Sayuri's chances.
Sayuri then gets chosen to be the lead dancer for the Spring Dances and her performance draws her the attention of many men. One of those men is the Baron, who is Mameha's danna. He invites her to his home for a cherry blossom party and because the Chairman will be there, Sayuri begs Mameha to let her go. Because Mameha will not be there to look after her, she warns Sayuri to be wary of the Baron.
At the party, the Baron gifts her a kimono and strips her naked against her will in his room.
Mameha hears of this and confronts Sayuri about it. Even though, Sayuri tells Mameha that all the Baron did was look at her, Mameha believes that he took her virginity and that Sayuri is now 'worthless'. Sayuri vehemently argues that she is not worthless.
After a checkup and proving that her virginity was still intact, the bidding takes places and Sayuri mizuage sells for the highest bid in history. Mother is pleased and Sayuri is adopted by mother to inherit the okiya, instead of Hatsumomo's protege Pumpkin.
Hatsumomo, enraged, finds the handkerchief from the Chairman in Sayuri's room and tries to burn it. Sayuri tries to stop her and there's a struggle before they knock over a lamp and set fire to the room. Hatsumomo, realising that all her dreams have been dashed, purposefully douses oil on the flames to burn down the okiya since there is nothing left for her anymore.
She leaves the okiya, looking back one last time.
After this, world war two arrives and the Chairman arranges plans to keep Mameha and Sayuri safe. Sayuri seeks refuge making fabrics for kimonos. After the war, Mameha, the Chairman, Nobu, Pumpkin and Sayuri are reunited as they go on a trip to impress a future possible business partner, Colonel Derricks.
As Nobu's affection grows, Sayuri hatches a plan to humiliate herself in front of him but instead humiliates herself in front of the Chairman. Hopes dashed, she decides to give up on him finally. Standing atop a cliff, she lets the wind carry his handkerchief away.
Soon after, Mother tells her that she has a client to meet. She expects it to be Nobu san but it turns out to be the Chairman. He finally admits his feelings for her and also that he was the one who had gotten Mameha to be her mentor in order for him to get closer to her.
They kiss and the end.
What I like about this movie:
Hatsumomo is pure evil and I love her. Gong Li does such a good job at playing the spiteful and vicious geisha. I literally feel scared for Chiyo each time Hatsumomo hatches a plan.
Also I find it interesting that the elements are used a lot in this movie. It's an asian thing maybe. Fire is represented by Hatsumomo. She is rash, fierce, passionate and wild. Water is represented by Chiyo/Sayuri. She is calm, serene, humble and quiet. Her blue eyes are also a representation of that.
Throughout the whole movie, these two elements are at war with each other. They are directly against each other. The fire dies out eventually as seen when Hatsumomo leaves the okiya after burning it down.
I like how sad this movie is. Does that make me evil? Nah, I don't think so.
She's plucked from her home, her sister runs away without her, her parents pass away and she is then made to work as a slave to the okiya. It's like 139083 times worses cause she's just a kid. It's so sad but in the end, there's happy ending.
What I dislike:
The accents. Oh my god. You can literally tell who's Japanese and who is not. A few of the actors' American accents came through. Pumpkin and the Baron for example. It's kinda jarring and took me out of the moment.
I'm trying to think if the chairman saw Chiyo when she was just a little girl and decided that he'd find her again when she was of age. Or if the Chairman recognised Chiyo in that 1 second that he saw her in the teahouse and asked Mameha to take her under her wing. Cause if it was the former, it's kinda creepy.
Okay, not kinda. Like really really creepy.
And is it just me or is it weird that Chiyo donated the money to the temple? She said it was enough to feed her for like a month right? That's a lot of money. So she must have probably been really in love with him a lot or really wanted to be a geisha.
I would have kept the money.
At least some of it.
I'm just saying.
Favourite Quotes:
Sayuri: The heart dies a slow death. Shedding each hope like leaves, until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.
Mameha: Remember, Chiyo, geisha are not courtesans. And we are not wives. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty. The very word "geisha" means artist and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art.
Sayuri: She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.
Favourite Scenes:
I liked the scene where Sayuri screamed that she wasn't worthless just because Mameha thought that the Baron had taken her virginity. I like that scene because it just shows how terrible people are when it comes to treating women in the past. Just because a woman has lost her virginity she is deemed worthless.
But good job mankind. You've come far.
And of course I like the scene where she first meets the chairman cause it's sweet and adorable and becomes the stepping stone to so many other things in life. Before she met him, she was miserable but right after she did, her life had purpose again. Because she's been used to so much bad things happening in her life, this one single act of kindness gave her something to work forward to.
What I learnt about love:
Love can wait.
All images from screenmusings
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