Five of us went after church to see Memoirs of a Geisha. When it was over, four of us loved it, and the fifth (my most frequent movie buddy) didn't like it but didn't hate it either.
I had looked through the reviews on IMDB before deciding whether or not to see the movie. They were mixed. People who just finished reading the book were the most disappointed. As were people who could tell the difference between Japanese and Chinese actresses or the proper kimono to be worn at a given occasion. Since I haven't read the book, and I'm not intimately familiar with Japanese culture, I didn't see a problem.
As we went in to our theater, I felt sorry for the men who came with wives or girlfriends. After all, Hugh Hewitt's resident movie reviewer, Emmett of the Unblinking Eye, had given a public service announcement on Hugh's radio show Thursday. He warned men, if at all possible, to encourage their wives to see the Geisha movie with their girlfriends. This is the ultimate chick flick. Men should see King Kong.
Memoirs of a Geisha is a lushly beautiful film that follows a young girl, Chiyo, from poverty to servitude to the world of the elite Geisha. It is filled with struggle, backstabbing, intrigue, and the dream of love.
From our perspective--and the reason my friend didn't like it--it is depressing to think that a woman's highest aspiration was to be no more than a wealthy man's mistress. But set in the context of a culture that prizes beauty, Chiyo's fight for love captured my attention and held it for the whole movie. I recommend it. To women.
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