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Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

December. 06,2005
|
7.3
|
PG-13
| Drama History Romance

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

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TinsHeadline
2005/12/06

Touches You

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Solemplex
2005/12/07

To me, this movie is perfection.

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Gutsycurene
2005/12/08

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

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Catangro
2005/12/09

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

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QueerVamp20
2005/12/10

Two sisters sold into two separate Geisha houses - attempt to flee - While the older sister gets away - The younger sister has to stay - Not only that, her chance at becoming a Geisha is taken from her due to the wicked schemes of an older Geisha who lives in the same house and a heavy debt that she cannot pay - forced to be a servant, she goes about life with no hope - Until she meets the Chairman - A much older man who shows her the first glimpse of kindness she has ever known - Making a promise to herself she decides she wants to someday marry him - When a rival shows up at their Geisha house years later - she decides to take the young woman, who once was the young girl, into her Geisha home to become a Geisha - What takes others years, she must learn in months - While hoping to one day be in the Chairman's arms. The rest you will have to see for yourself - The Cinematography is mind blowing - and it takes you to a place you may have never dreamed or imagined!

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erinweller
2005/12/11

Memoirs of a Geisha is a classic love story about a young girl named Chiyo who is sold by her impoverished parents into the geisha district in Japan prior to World War II. Chiyo, the protagonist in this film, is a young girl whom is expected to learn the ways of being a geisha. That idea is squashed temporarily when Hatsumomo, the antagonist and fellow geisha, purposefully gets Chiyo into trouble. Chiyo continues to grow up in this home where she is raised as a slave instead of a geisha for her actions. Then one day, still a young girl, Chiyo encounters a man known as the chairman whom she falls in love with and proclaims at that moment that she will do everything that she can to be with him. This begins her journey into becoming a geisha. Most of the focus of this film is on the emotional aspect and complexity of human relationships. We feel for Chiyo's situation. We want to see her live a better life. She is living the life of Cinderella, an orphaned child living as a slave. She is transformed by different means but becomes the object of beauty. The uses of colors are very important in this film. There are several scenes that the use of color plays a role in the overall mood. For example, when Chiyo makes her debut as Sayuri in the snow dance we see lots of bold colors and shadows in the same scene creating a sense of beauty and mystery. Bold, red, Japanese lanterns hung above the stage, orange lighting behind the audience, and the blue lighting on the stage that shines upon Chiyo all create an intensely beautiful mood. The color blue is significant as Chiyo is told a few times that "there is too much water in her eyes" (Marshall, 2005) because of their bluish haze. This is very important to the story because Chiyo says in the first five minutes of the movie that her mother told her that Chiyo was "like water" and that "water can carve its way, even though stone. And when trapped, water makes a new path" (Marshall, 2005). We see in this film that Chiyo lives her life in this way throughout the film. When Hatsumomo tries to ruin her chances of becoming a geisha repeatedly and somehow Chiyo never gives in to her antics. Pumpkin also tries towards the end of the film and also fails. In the end, this film is not only about finding love but also about perseverance of the human spirit.

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grantss
2005/12/12

Dull and seemingly interminable. Starts slowly, continues going slowly, thinks of speeding up, but then goes slowly, and eventually ends. All this, and the movie didn't really make a point. It is simply one long drifting story.Plus, the whole movie just seems culturally stereotypical and insensitive. Americans, even senior officers in their army, are brash, boorish louts. Japanese women are submissive to the extreme. And don't get me started on Chinese actors/actresses being cast as Japanese...Performances are OK. The standout is probably Susuka Ohgo as the young Chiyo. American characters are not played well at all.

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yutty0906
2005/12/13

It is very well acted first of all and looks beautiful . This is a great story about the life of an orphaned girl sold by her dying parents to the sex trade. Then brought up to become a geisha.It is a very moving story and is very much a chick flick but it is far from boring and unsatisfying.If you do not like chick flicks then I would not suggest this to you but I do not like chick flicks usually and I love it still. If you manage fall asleep watching this film then you should just stick to watching explosions.But if you like movies with great acting and a compelling story then you will likely love this movie.

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