Ken Watanabe - Chairman Yamamoto. 'The Chairman,' the high-powered executive with whom the young geisha, Sayuri, falls in love

Michelle Yeoh - Mameha. The elegant and experienced geisha who becomes Sayuri's mentor

Koji Yakusho ¡V Nobu. The brilliant but tragic businessman who seeks to become Sayuri's patron

Yozuka Ohgo ¡V Young Chiyo

Gong Li - Hatsumomo. Sayuri's stunning and treacherous rival

Youki Kudoh - Pumpkin. Sayuri's closest friend since childhood who also struggles on the path to becoming a geisha.

omplete list of Cast here: Memoirs of a Geisha cast

Pictures from the movie: Memoirs Pictures

Summary:

Based on the internationally acclaimed novel by Arthur Golden ¡§Memoirs of a Geisha¡¨ is a sweeping romance epic set in the mysterious and exotic world that¡¦s still casts a potent spell today. The story begins in the story before WWII when a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid to a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha, Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi). Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love, for the one man out of her reach, the Chairman (Ken Watanabe).

Nine-year old Chiyo, a poor fisherman¡¦s daughter, is taken from her family and sold to a geisha house. From the start as common household maid, she blossoms into one of Kyoto¡¦s most renowned geishas, surviving the envy and treachery of the competition.

What I Think:

I have seen the movie and I have not read the book, I am planning to read the book now. The story of Chiyo moved me. Asian movies are like the best movies! Some of my favorites, Last Samurai, Crouching Tiger, and this one tops the list.

The actors: Zhang Ziyi has always been one of my favorite Chinese actresses, she has depth and now she can speak English well too. I think this is her first full-length all-English speaking movie. Michelle Yeoh, she¡¦s a great actress, she¡¦s one great Malaysian jewel. Gong Li, she looks really familiar, I so loathed her here I think I have seen this actress before. And Oh my favorite Ken Watanabe!! I am not so much into anything jpop or Jap (except I have a few friends who speak fluent Nippongo and can write perfect kanji, that¡¦s about it...). My few fave Jap actors are Shin Koyamada, Takuya Kimura, Satoshi Tsumubaki, the late Pat Morita and best of all Ken Watanabe!! I so so so like him! ƒº
Gong Li was such a can I say this, sheet ass, she ruined everything for Sayuri and the one scene where she burned the whole geisha house, I really wanted to kill her already! Grrr! She is like a psycho already. But yes I think Gong Li gave out one of the best if not the best performance.

The music: The background music was really perfect; the main theme song which was also the closing credits song was perfect. The cello solos by Yo Yo Ma were strikingly sad and exotic.

The scenery: Oh my god! Ancient Japan with all its beautiful gardens and lakes is beautiful!! The Cherry blossoms make everything for Chiyo and the Chairman so perfect.

The story: It is so gripping! I really need to read the book I want to be Sayuri, minus all the hardships she went through. ƒº Hehehe¡K. As the closing credits started rolling, I absolutely do not want the movie to end. I wasn¡¦t to see Sayuri and the Chairman happy and all. Oh gosh! But I kept on wondering what happened to her older sister and to Nobu.

My favorite Scenes:

WARNING: Some spoilers included here. Stop here if you do not want to know more. ļ

** Just watching young Chiyo with her beautiful gray (or blue?) eyes, she was one pretty little girl.

** Young Chiyo meets the Chairman for the first time over the bridge where he bot her ice cream, and gave her his handkerchief. He was a young man and she a child. That¡¦s when her life started to have some purpose.

** Mameha training and transforming Chiyo and renaming her Sayuri

** Sayuri looking once at boy in a bike and he stopped and fell of his bike, Mameha told her she is ready to be an apprentice geisha/ maiko.

** Sayuri saying this about the Chairman¡¨ Until I find him, until he finds me, until I¡¦m his¡K¡¨

** Sayuri¡¦s debut fan dance, which was so enticing. And her coming-out dance which impressed the Chairman.

** Years after, she was to meet the owner of an electric company, and lo and behold he was his beloved Chairman Yonamura (?)

** Sayuri and the Chairman meeting by the lake with the beautiful cherry blossoms falling on them, such a romantic scene!

** The Baron raping Sayuri (or did he really rape her¡K) He is another character that I hated so much!

** Dr. Crabb ¡§winning¡¨ Sayuri. He¡¦s one lucky bastard.

** With the WWII coming, Chairman made sure Sayuri is safe and sent her to the outskirts.

** Sayuri came back to the village and meeting the Chairman again. He looks so dashing here in his white suit.

** Sayuri came back from the village and Pumpkin was acting so different already, like a whore for the American soldiers. I pity her.

** That the Dana of Sayuri is her beloved Chairman. I swear to god I really didn¡¦t want to watch the ending coz I thought it was Nobu. ƒº

** Chairman called Sayuri by her childhood (and real) name, Chiyo, kissed her, telling her how much he loves her, and telling her that he wanted Sayuri all for himself all this time but wants to give in to his best friend, Nobu for him to have a shot at happiness.

** That all her childhood prayers were answered.

** Geisha ¡V women trained to dance, sing and entertain in ancient Japan.

** Maiko ¡V apprentice geisha

Other Stuff:

Zhang Ziyi to Star in 'Geisha' Movie
The Associated Press
By ANTHONY BREZNICAN
LOS ANGELES
Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:18 MST

After long years of development and some tricky Hollywood dealmaking, a movie version of the best-selling novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" is headed into production.

The book became a sensation around the world when it was first published in 1997. The story chronicles a young girl's rise from poverty in a Japanese fishing village to life in high society.

The lead role of Sayuri will go to Zhang Ziyi, the Chinese actress who starred in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and appeared in the comedy "Rush Hour 2," her publicist said Thursday.

For those unfamiliar with the story, a geisha is a Japanese woman schooled in the art of dance, singing and conversation to be a companion for wealthy men.

Zhang, 25, has been working to perfect her English for several years and now speaks the language with little difficulty.

"This is the first time that I will play the lead in an English-language movie. It will be a big challenge, but the studios, producers and director have shown great confidence in me. I will continue to do my utmost to make this the best role I've ever played," she told The Associated Press.

Ken Watanabe, an Oscar nominee for "The Last Samurai," will portray the Chairman, a high-powered executive with whom Sayuri falls in love.

Another "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" co-star, Michelle Yeoh, has signed to portray Mameha, the elegant and experienced geisha who becomes Sayuri's mentor.

"Geisha" will be directed by Rob Marshall, the Oscar-nominated director of "Chicago."

Marshall has long wanted to make this his next project, but was locked into a contract with Miramax Films, while Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks SKG held the rights to "Geisha." After lengthy negotiations that threatened to block his participation, a deal was eventually reached among the studios.

"We could not be more excited about the extraordinary cast that we have in place for `Memoirs of a Geisha,'" said Marshall, who's also a Tony-winning director and choreographer. "We are adapting a beloved piece of literature that has become a worldwide sensation, which made it important to me to assemble a cast with a prestigious international profile."

For many years, Steven Spielberg was interested in directing the film. He will now serve as a producer.

"From the time I first read Arthur Golden's novel, I wanted to see this as a film," Spielberg said. "It's a uniquely compelling story rich with characters who take you into a world you have never experienced before."

Production is set to begin in the fall, but the release date has not yet been specified.

credits: yahoo news

Rating: 10 Hollywood Stars out of 10