Memoirs of a Geisha (film)

2005 film by Rob Marshall

Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 American epic period drama film directed by Rob Marshall and adapted by Robin Swicord from the 1997 novel of the same name by Arthur Golden. It tells the story of a young Japanese girl, Chiyo Sakamoto, who is sold by her impoverished family to a geisha house (okiya) to support them by training as and eventually becoming a geisha under the pseudonym "Sayuri Nitta." The film centers around the sacrifices and hardship faced by pre World War II geisha, and the challenges posed by the war and a modernizing world to geisha society. It stars Zhang Ziyi in the lead role, with Ken Watanabe, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Youki Kudoh, Suzuka Ohgo, and Samantha Futerman. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg (through production companies Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures) and Douglas Wick (through Red Wagon Entertainment). Production was split between southern and northern California and a number of locations in Kyoto, including the Kiyomizu temple and the Fushimi Inari shrine. It was released as a limited release in the United States on December 9, 2005 and a wide release on December 23, 2005, by Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, with the latter receiving studio credit only. The film garnered polarized reviews from critics worldwide and was moderately successful at the box office. It was also nominated for and won numerous awards, including nominations for six Academy Awards, and eventually won three: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. The acting, visuals, sets, costumes, and the musical score (composed by Spielberg's long time collaborator John Williams) were praised, but the film was criticized for casting some non Japanese actresses as Japanese women and for its style over substance approach. The Japanese release of the film was titled Sayuri, the titular character's geisha name.

In 1929, Chiyo Sakamoto and her older sister Satsu are sold off by their poor father and taken to Gion, Kyoto. Chiyo is taken in by Kayoko Nitta, known as "Mother", the proprietress of a local okiya; Satsu, deemed too unattractive, is sent to a brothel instead. Chiyo also meets "Granny" and "Auntie" (who is kind to Chiyo), the other women who run the house; Pumpkin, another young girl; and the okiya's resident geisha, Hatsumomo. Pumpkin and Chiyo soon begin their education to become future geisha. Hatsumomo, seeing Chiyo as a potential rival, immediately treats her with abuse. One night, Hatsumomo and another geisha force Chiyo to ruin an elegant kimono belonging to their rival, Mameha, one of Gion's most prominent geisha. Auntie takes up the responsibility in punishing Chiyo, as ruining Mameha's kimono has cost money to Mother. Hoping she will run away, Hatsumomo tells her where she can find Satsu in the red light district. They make plans to run away the following night. When Chiyo returns to the Okiya in the middle of that night, she stumbles upon Hatsumomo and her illicit boyfriend, Koichi. As the rest of the okiya wakes from the noise, Koichi runs away and Hatsumomo tries to frame Chiyo for stealing to distract from her affair. Mother begins to severely beat Chiyo, who quickly informs Mother that she saw Hatsumomo having sex with Koichi. After finding evidence of Hatsumomo's affair, Mother bars her from seeing him, again by locking the gate; only letting anyone out for appointments. The next night, when Chiyo tries to escape via the rooftops, she falls and is injured. Due to her accumulating costs, Mother stops investing in her geisha training and instead makes her a menial servant to pay off her debts. Satsu flees Kyoto and Chiyo never sees her again. Mother gives Chiyo two wooden grave markers and Auntie reads a letter, saying that both Chiyo's parents have died. One day, while crying on a bridge, Chiyo encounters Chairman Ken Iwamura. He buys her a shaved ice dessert and gives her his handkerchief and some money to cheer her up. Touched by his kindness, Chiyo resolves to become a geisha so that she might become a part of the Chairman's life. Several years later, Pumpkin debuts as a maiko under Hatsumomo's tutelage. Shortly afterwards, Chiyo is taken under the wing of Mameha, who persuades Mother to reinvest in Chiyo's geisha training, promising to pay her twice over after her debut. Chiyo becomes a maiko and receives the name Sayuri. At a sumo match, she is reintroduced to the Chairman, but attracts the attention of his gruff business partner Toshikazu Nobu. Thanks to Mameha's efforts, and in spite of Hatsumomo's scheming, Sayuri rises in popularity, attracting the attention of many men—including Dr. Crab and the Baron, Mameha's own [[Geisha#Danna partnership. In a bidding war for Sayuri's deflowering ceremony, as part of her becoming a full geisha, the winning bid is a record breaking amount from Dr. Crab, 15,000 yen. Mother immediately names Sayuri as her adopted daughter and the heiress to the okiya, crushing Pumpkin and enraging Hatsumomo. Upon returning home from the ceremony, Sayuri finds a drunken Hatsumomo in her room, where the latter has found the Chairman's handkerchief. This leads to a fight between them, in which Hatsumomo eventually starts a fire in the okiya. The building is saved, and Hatsumomo is banished from Gion. Sayuri's successful career is cut short by the outbreak of World War II. The Chairman relocates her to the safety of the countryside, where she works for a kimono maker. After the war ends, Nobu asks Sayuri to help him impress an American Colonel who could approve funding for their business. She reunites with Mameha, who reluctantly agrees to help her impress the Colonel, as well as Pumpkin, who is now working as an escort. Sayuri travels with Nobu, the Chairman, Mameha, Pumpkin, and the American soldiers to the Amami Islands. The Colonel propositions Sayuri, but she rejects him. Nobu confronts her after seeing this and confesses his desire to become her danna. Sayuri devises a plan to have Nobu catch her being intimate with the Colonel so that he will lose interest, and enlists Pumpkin's help to do so. However, Pumpkin brings the Chairman instead. When confronted, Pumpkin declares it her revenge for Mother adopting Sayuri instead of her. Disheartened, Sayuri gives up on her pursuit for the Chairman. After returning to Gion, Sayuri is summoned to a nearby tea house. Expecting Nobu, she is instead surprised to see the Chairman. He confesses his feelings for Sayuri, admitting he always knew of her identity but refused to interfere with Nobu's feelings out of respect, and that he himself arranged for Mameha to become her mentor. Sayuri is finally able to confess her love to the Chairman and they share a kiss.

Shortly after the book's release in 1997, the filming rights to the book were purchased for $1 million by Red Wagon's Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, backed by Columbia Pictures. The following year, Steven Spielberg planned to make Memoirs of a Geisha as the follow up to Saving Private Ryan, bringing in his company DreamWorks. Spielberg's DreamWorks partner David Geffen attempted to persuade him not to take the project, feeling it was "not good enough for him". Prior to Spielberg's involvement, the film was planned to be shot in Japan in the Japanese language. By 2002, with Spielberg having postponed production for A. I. Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg stepped down from directorial duties to only produce. Both Wick and Fisher approached Rob Marshall, who was interested in doing a non musical after Annie and Chicago. This brought a third company into Memoirs of a Geisha, as Marshall was still signed to release his next film through Chicago distributors Miramax. The three leading non Japanese actresses, including Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh, were put through "geisha boot camp" before production commenced, during which they were trained in traditional geisha practices of Japanese music, dance, and tea ceremony. Anthropologist Liza Dalby was also brought in to aid in the production as an advisor, though she later commented that "while the director and producers often asked my opinion on things, most of the time they went ahead and followed their own vision", calling the film a "wasted opportunity" to display geisha society accurately.

Production of the film took place from September 29, 2004 to January 31, 2005. It was decided that contemporary Japan looked too modern for a story set in pre and post war Japan, meaning that many scenes were filmed on cost effective soundstages or on location in the United States, primarily California. The majority of the film was shot on a large set built on a ranch in Thousand Oaks, California. Most interior scenes were filmed in Culver City, California at the Sony Pictures Studios lot. Other locations in California included San Francisco, Moss Beach, Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, Sacramento, Yamashiro's Restaurant in Hollywood, the Japanese Gardens at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino, Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, and Downtown Los Angeles at the Belasco Theater on Hill Street. Towards the end of production, some scenes were shot in Kyoto, including the Fushimi Inari Taisha, the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi ku, Kyoto.

One of the tasks faced by sound editors in post production was improving the English pronunciation of the cast, which in part involved piecing together different dialogue clips from other segments of the film to form missing syllables in the actors' speech, as some spoke only partially phonetic English when performing. The work of the sound editors earned the film an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Sound Editing.

The Memoirs of a Geisha official soundtrack features Yo Yo Ma performing the cello solos, as well as Itzhak Perlman performing the violin solos. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, who won his fourth Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

The film premiered at Tokyo in November 29, 2005. The film had a limited theatrical release in December 9, 2005, before expanding wide in December 23.

The film debuted on DVD, in both Widescreen and Fullscreen versions, on March 28, 2006. The release was a 2 Disc set, with a second disc dedicated to special features. The film was consequently released on the Blu ray format on September 25, 2007. The Blu ray version received positive reviews, for the video and audio quality and for porting over every single extra from the 2 Disc DVD release.

In the Western hemisphere, the film received mixed reviews. In China and Japan, reviews were more negative, with some controversy among audiences and critics arising from the film's casting and its relationship to Japan's history.