ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

ARTHUR GOLDEN’S ‘Memoirs Of A Geisha’ became one of those rare international bestsellers that everyone was talking about.

Everyone also thought it might make a terrific film. The big screen version is finally with us and is certainly a visual feast with the kind of vibrant, breathtaking imagery that deserves an Oscar. Dramatically it’s not nearly as impressive, and the lengthy running time does eventually begin to take its toll.

There is something very Dickensian about a story which starts with a young girl being torn from her family, separated from her sister and abandoned to a life in service. It is only when she finds a mentor in Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) that the heroine Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang) discovers a different destiny.

Groomed in all the graces and fine arts of her profession, she becomes the most celebrated geisha in 1930s Japan. She even attracts a jealous rival in the spiteful Hastumomo (Gong Li).

‘Memoirs Of A Geisha’ is primarily a love story that wears its heart on its sleeve. Shown kindness by a stranger (Ken Watanabe), Sayuri comes to regard him as the great love of her life, but there are endless obstacles to a happy ending, not least the intrusion of the Second World which seems to pass in a few brief scenes and leave little lasting impact on any of the characters.

A film of great beauty and very strong performances, ‘Memoirs Of A Geisha’ still comes perilously close to Mills and Boon territory in its more melodramatic moments, and is never quite as moving as one might have hoped.

Nationwide release
Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Koji Yakusho, Ken Watanabe
Screenplay: Robin Swicord, based on the novel by Arthur Golden
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 145 mins
Country: US
Year: 2005

© Allan Hunter, 2006