A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Memoirs of a Geisha

Date Viewed: 12/28/05

Details:

Suzuka Ohgo (Chiyo)

Ziyi Zhang (Sayuri)

Li Gong (Hatsumomo)

Kaori Momoi (Mother)

Michelle Yeoh (Mameha)

Youki Kudoh (Pumpkin)

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (The Baron)

Ken Watanabe (Chairman)

Koji Yakusho (Nobu)

Randall Duk Kim (Dr. Crab)

Director: Rob Marshall

Score: John Williams

Producer: Steven Spielberg

Score: +1/2

The Review: Densely textured and beautifully filmed viewport into the floating world of Japan's pre-WWII geisha community, derived from the popular novel by Arthur Golden.

At times, the cinematography is eye-catching and gorgeous: superb garden views, the flowing water colors from the kimono makers, a rare coastal landscape -- would there were more of the latter. But the majority of on-screen framing is of faces, as befits what is crafted and presented as an autobiography. The younger Chiyo (Ohgo) is wonderful, mercurial with an eager smile; the mature Sayuri (Zhang) is on occasion stark or stunning, well-cast even if not Japanese. The Jane Seymour look-alike Michelle Yeoh lends grace and respect as Sayuri's teacher.

The score from John Williams is notable and also works well as a standalone sound-track CD: with solo cello by Yo-Yo Ma and solo violin by Itzak Perlman, as well as occasional shakuhachi and koto. The mood is carefully set by this background, and no less with the sporadic over-voiced narration from the perspective of the main character Sayuri.

(29-Dec-05)

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