Take Me to the Movies
I can’t wait to see Memoirs of a Geisha (which opens nation-wide on Festivus).
From Xinhua:
As a little girl, Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi) was sold by her fisherman father to an okiya, where she must learn to be a special lady, a geisha, one of the “wives of nightfall†who for centuries have entertained Japanese gentlemen with delicacy, wit and a mastery of such arts as flower-arranging, calligraphy, singing and dancing.
At 15, Chiyo has these graces only in embryo; but a famous geisha, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), sees how they might flower. She begins the girl’s education sternly.
And slowly the eager student with the “watery†gray eyes grows into a captivating woman known as Nitta Sayuri. She attracts the attention of the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), a powerful man whom Sayuri has adored since she was a little girl and he showed her kindness.
Sayuri’s rise doesn’t suit Hatsumomo’s (Gong Li) ego. The reigning bitch-goddess of the okiya accurately sees Sayuri’s promise as a threat. With magnificent hatred, she spits a warning at the girl: “I will destroy you.â€
Get Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel and watch the movie trailer here.
Paul Fischer interviews Gong Li here.
Check out “Bob Mondello’s Holiday Movies Preview” at NPR for more holiday movie previews.
Thanks for including the review. Too bad you don’t live closer, or else I would be dragging you out for this movie. Movies that look at the way women compete in terms of sex appeal always fascinate (and often disgust and sometimes challenge) me.