Memoirs of a Geisha

It was a surprisingly relaxing day for us at work today. There was first the company annual "lunch" - usually we hear of dinners but very seldom lunches! Since the boss also invited some of the big shots from our main customer in Taiwan, so we had it at an equally big-shot seafood restaurant. And the food was gloriously delicious! Every dish of them - be it fresh sashimi, king crab, abalone, lobster - every one of them was prepared in ways I have never savored before. Ooh la la! There was even plenty of beer and Gao Liang (58% alcohol) on circulation. And it was barely 3pm on a workday! Coming from our excessively thrifty and calculative boss, that was really a surprise. There were five tables altogether and each costed NT$8000+ minus the drinks! Imagine. To top it off there was the KTV after the meal! Might as well call it an off day :P. But the highlight of the day wasn't sitting on the couch smelling of cigarette and listening our KTV King-and-Queen dominating the mics singing 85% of the songs, it was this:


Yes, it was one of the long awaited movies since 2005 that I have wanted to watch. My only regret is that I have not read the actual book, prior to the threatrical adaptation. The rumours were rather accurate - that the movie wasn't phenomenal but all the same it was worthwhile.

For ZhangZiYi was spectacular in playing the role of Sayuri, even though I have expected slightly more from her... but I really give her credits for the dance scene - thrilling, chilling and totally captivating. Also glad to learn that she has improved much on her command of English :). Nevertheless, in my very humble opinion, ZiYi's performance may potentially be the highlight if not for the over-powering presence of Gong Li as conniving Hatsumomo, which is something to behold, really. I remember this actress from previous mandarin movies I watched long ago, but her performance in Memoirs showed that experience truly maketh the (wo)man.

Ken Watanabe delivered a good one too as The Chairman, though not as memorable as his performance in The Last Samurai, while Michelle Yeoh is ever the elegant Datuk Michelle Yeoh. But amidst these seasoned actors, rose a star child who played the role of Chiyo (young Sayuri) with whom I am very impressed. Her innocence and expressions gave the movie a notch higher on the emotional appeal and hers are the eyes that can melt the coldest stare of a ruthless general or trickle a tear from a heartless man. In the scene on the bridge that sealed Sayuri's fate with the Chairman's, little Suzuka Ohgo proved that she has the potential of a rising star as well as more chemistry with Ken Watanabe than what ZiYi had for the rest of the movie.

Memoirs is not merely a biography of a Geisha. How I perceive it, it also tells the different kinds of men who every woman will have to face throughout her lifetime. She will always attract people like the Baron, who has a huge weakness for beautiful women and thus showers them with exquisite gifts albeit with ulterior motives. Then there'll always be a Mr. Nobu for her - a gentleman who's perfect in every way and good-husband material, but to whom her heart just doesn't belong, even if he would give the world up for her. And there'll always the one with more kindness than all the rest combined, or the quiet man who will love her unconditionally behind corner of her shadows. If fate allows it, she may discover her destiny with the good men whom she dearly loves, or, more unfortunately, intertwined with those like the Baron.

And as men, it is inevitable that our knees buckle and our hearts stir at the sight of beautiful women. It is engraved in our DNA, something passed down from our forefathers. But that doesn't warrant us to act like the Baron, nor justify intentions like his. Gifts we can spare freely, and they don't have to be worldy things but could be small gestures like treating her well and respectfully, giving her equal opportunities, offering assistance when it is in need... (though I have to say offering to be called upon *even at night* to have a chat is not what I have in mind here :P).

Fans of ZhangZiYi will be delighted with this place called HelloZiyi.us. This girl is garnering more and more fans worldwide!

Spoiler's ahead:

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During the supposedly most touching scene with Sayuri and the Chairman in the end, despite the obviously fake tear at the corner of the man's right eye, I was already breathing in the moment while imagining how the emotions between the two lovers would be transformed into words flowing from Arthur Golden hands into the book. But my friend next to me whispered, "Didn't he already has a wife and children?"

Man... that was really potong the steam!