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Contains moderate sex scenes and emotional intensity
Memoirs Of A Geisha by Chicago helmer Rob Marshall is not a complex drama, but neither is Arthur Golden's best-selling novel. Instead, each provides a sumptuous and absorbing portrayal of a lost and peculiar world. Shimmering silk and velvet shadows suggest a way of life that is as foreboding as it is seductive. And Ziyi Zhang (House Of Flying Daggers) delivers a typically subtle yet soulful performance as the geisha itching for freedom beneath the binds of her kimono.
Pint-sized actress Suzuka Ohgo lights up the screen as the young Sayuri, wrenched from her father's arms and whisked away to the bustle of 20s Kyoto. In the best tradition of Dickensian urchins, the little girl works her fingers to the bone, except her workhouse trades in an idealised vision of beauty personified by the spiteful Hatsumomo (Li Gong). She does her utmost to break Sayuri's spirit and thus eliminate the only threat to her inheritance.
"STRIKES A UNIVERSAL CHORD"
Playing the stoic Chairman, Ken Watanabe keeps Sayuri from lapsing into bitterness, but theirs is a romance lived mostly in daydreams. Love rightly takes second place to a coming-of-age story that's enjoyably exotic yet strikes a universal chord. An overriding mood of youthful optimism shines through in the darkest moments and builds to a stirring last image. Unlike the geisha, this adaptation does wear its heart on its sleeve, but a fine cast, including the regal Michelle Yeoh, create a picture of composure.
manages to stay true to the book which is something that many films fail to do
