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The politics in the movie have been mirrored by some controversy about the movie. The three lead actresses for this Japanese story are Chinese—though, international issues aside, no one can argue that the acting in the film is anything but superb. The movie was filmed mostly on a created set in California with dialogue almost completely in English with Japanese accents. And there's an American ring to Sayuri's life-absorbing desire to find love, as most geisha simply wanted to find a reliable danna, and preferably one who was good and kind. It will be interesting to see how the film fares in Asian countries.

Most American audiences won't notice or be distracted by these subtleties. Most simply will be drawn to a lavishly spun tale of friendship and rivalry, hope and despair, choice and duty, love and lust, traditional custom and forbidden emotion. While the film is a visual feast of colors, the final product would have been even more intriguing and accurate if a few more of the darker hues were included. But the overall effect is not so unlike Mameha's description of geisha themselves: a moving work of art.

Talk About It

1. At the outset of the movie, we hear Sayuri's voice saying a story like hers should never be told. Why do you think she says this? What does she mean?
   
   
2. Chiyo's name is changed to Sayuri when she becomes an apprentice geisha. Think about instances in the Bible when people are given new names (Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter,Saul to Paul, etc.). What parallels do you see? Why do you think a new name is necessary?
   
   
3. Sayuri talks about the life of a geisha being agony and beauty side by side. List the ways this life is agony and the ways it is beauty. Does one of these sides weigh heavier than the other? In what ways are our own lives both agony and beauty?
   
   
4. At one point Nobu tells Sayuri, "Victory doesn't always belong to the powerful." In what ways is this true in the movie? In life?
   
   
5. List the ways women in the movie are dependent on men. What resources and power of their own do the women have? In what ways do they use them wisely and in what ways do they use them poorly? In what ways do you use your resources and power wisely and poorly? How could you use these things to help those who are still powerless and unhealthily dependent on others for their livelihood?
   
   

The Family Corner

Though the sexual side of a geisha's life is largely unexplored here, there are some references to it and some overall themes that wouldn't be appropriate for young children. Mature teens might find this an entertaining peek at a fascinating period of world history, one worth discussing afterward.

Photos © Copyright Columbia Pictures

© Camerin Courtney 2005, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) turns Arthur Golden's poetic novel Memoirs of a Geisha into another elaborate display of razzle-dazzle, and in doing so, he's won himself a controversy. After all, the novel is about Japanese characters, and Marshall's film is packed with well-known Chinese actresses. To complicate matters further, they're speaking English … a distracting, halting form of English.

Will the film be an Oscar contender? Perhaps in some categories for its flamboyant style. But most critics agree that Zhang Ziyi delivered a far more complex and engaging performance in Wong Kar-Wai's 2046 earlier this year. And they're dismayed at how the film, despite its enthralling source material, has come to feel rather like a Hollywood melodrama.

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