Today I watched the first of my recently bought movies, Memoirs of a Geisha. It was actually hard to pick which one to watch. I have been wanting to see this movie for a long time but kept putting it off for many reasons.
When I first read the book, I did not actually know it was fiction. Someone had bought it for me, and I thought it was an actual Memoirs of a Geisha. The book was so beautifully written. To get to the end of the book and find out not only was it fiction but it was written by a man was quite a shock.
I was looking forward to seeing what the movie makers did with it – the first thing I’ll say, the movie is very long but compared to the book it is actually short. Much more happened in the book. But the thing the movie had that the book did not was the beauty of Geisha and the beauty of Japan though from the looks of things little of it was filmed there.
It was lovely. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I don’t think that was it. I do think the movie could have used more of the writing from the book as narration. I think I might have to watch it a couple more times to really absorb it. But if you get a chance, see it yourself. ;) It reminds me very much of Oshin in some ways, the young life of the girl was somewhat similar though Oshin did not become a Geisha.
The other half has a product night tonight and won’t be home for a little while so I might go watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with commentary. I am really interested in this one. ;)
read my take on ‘memoirs of giesha’
http://journojp.blogspot.com/