By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Gong Li | Michelle Yeoh | Zhang Ziyi
Country: united_states
Year: 2005
Running time: 112
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/combined
Chris says: “I never had any desire to read Arthur Golden’s obscenely popular novel. At first, this adaptation confirmed my worst suspicions: a sumptuously filmed but middlebrow Hollywood take on a subject that deserves better. Still, despite a slow start (and hearing many of my favorite Asian actresses speaking in somewhat fractured English!), I have to admit the results are far from an abomination. For director Rob Marshall, this makes perfect sense as a follow-up to CHICAGO: its theatricality suits him well.
“As a girl sold into slavery who blossoms into an improbable but fetching geisha, Ziyi Zhang is more than adequate–she even has a killer scene where she does a dance that rivals any of the fight sequences in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. It’s also fun to see an evil Gong Li as Zhang’s nemesis (even if she’s a little old for the part), Best of all, however, is Michelle Yeoh as a demure, no-nonsense benefactor who takes Zhang under her wing.
“Yet, despite this film’s obvious Oscar aspirations, none of these women will likely get a nomination; nor will Marshall or the film (except probably for its cinematography and costumes). As breathtaking as GEISHA intermittently appears, it’s mostly just surface–an exquisite, dazzling surface, to be sure, but one, unlike Marshall’s previous film, without much of a dynamic dramatic arc (or a believable, well-conceived romance) to prop it up. Come for the fabulous kimonos; as for insight, don’t expect more than what you’d find in your average fortune cookie (yes, I know fortune cookies are Chinese–just like most of this film’s actresses). 3 cats.”