How I fell in love with Memoirs of a Geisha

When I was younger I watched Memoirs of a Geisha in the company of my parents and after finishing it, there was something that left me wanting more. I could not quite put my finger on why I found the movie so captivating (I was not very educated in terms of media at that age, you see) so I proceeded to watch it about another seven times in the subsequent years, enjoying every viewing as if it was the first. Recently I watched it once more and came to the realisation that apart from the fact that a lot of the characters extremely attractive the whole movie is made with the sole intent of titillating the viewer, to the extent that it even sparked quite a big controversy. Even from the source material, the book by Arthur Golden, the narrative's intention is to sell you a fantasy of the Geisha in Japan with no regards to historical accuracy, mixing aspects from the Oiran (japanese courtesans) and adding elements such as the selling of the Geisha's virginity which is not correct. These inaccuracies were not fixed in the movie.

Mineko Iwasaki, the Geisha who inspired the story, even sued Arthur Golden for damaging her reputation and presenting his 'decorations' as fact. So, if you want to read an accurate account of the events you should read Geisha of Gion and autobiography by Mineko Iwasaki made to contrast the fictitious Memoirs of a Geisha.

Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki

But without any further a do, I want to discuss the movie. Memoir's of a Geisha tells the story of Chiyo who is sold into a Geisha house and separated from her sister at a young age. During her time in the Geisha house we will see how she makes enemies with Hatsumomo and gets mentored by Mameha to eventually become the most popular Geisha in the Hanamachi just to lose everything she worked for when the war comes. During the whole movie there is an underlying love story between Chiyo, who later takes the name of Sayuri, and a character we call the Chairman. He is, in fact, one of the first instances of hope that she encounters and the colours and lighting of the scene demonstrate that.

Chiyo first meeting the chairman after being sold.

As already mentioned, since this is a positive event in Chiyo's life, the scene is clad with abundant lighting and bright colours which are absent in hopeless scenes such as when she is sold or during the war where tones are more subdued or grey and darkness reigns. This is one of the aspects that I feel make a lot of the movie much more impactful since there is a congruence between visuals and narrative that immediately and clearly convey the feelings of the character to the viewer.

Sayuri has left her Geisha life behind due to the war.

Chiyo just after being sold and separated from her sister.

Sayuri thinking that she has lost the Chairman's love forever.

In all these scenes we can see the sadness or despair that Sayuri is feeling manifested in the sombreness of her environment, contrasted for example with the scene where she is finally reunited with the Chairman and they confess their love for each other, letting Sayuri know that all those years of waiting and thinking that her love was unrequited were worth it even if just for that moment.

Sayuri and the Chairman meet again and the brightness and tones nearly mimic those of their first encounter.

Now, the age difference in this romance is quite jarring, to the point that it nearly inhibits my enjoyment of the movie, furthermore, the movie also has some quotes about how water flows or the capriciousness of the heart that come off as very artificial and cheesy. Nonetheless, overall, Memoirs of a Geisha has some pretty memorable characters, all with their own motivations which I find especially important when it comes to the main villain, Hatsumomo.

Hatsumomo.

Unlike some other villains who are evil for narrative convenience or the sake of being mean, Hatsumomo has a real reason to antagonise Sayuri; she sees her as a potential threat to her career from the first moment due to her unconventional eye colour and the way in which people in the Okiya (Geisha house) treat her. Since Hatsumomo wants to gain more fame and inherit the Okiya she cannot allow Sayuri to gain popularity and take her place, thus she does everything that is in her hand to destroy her reputation, eventually bringing forth her own downfall through her jealousy.

To conclude, this movie is full of flaws but is well worth the watch due to an interesting, yet fictitious story and engaging characters paired to its well planned cinematography.