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My review---
The setting is Japan , where Geishas have their own place in society .
Narration of the film is done in the wonderfully old voice of a Geisha who has been through the ups and downs of life . And as is typical in the life stories of fallen women ( and a Geisha IS a fallen woman , no matter how sophisticated she is ) , she has been sold as a sex slave when she was a child along with her sister by her father who desperately needs the money .
The first 45 minutes of the movie are tragic and are filled with heart rending moments , like the moment when the leading actress and her sister are separated from each other permanently to go to different brothels . And as is inevitable in these stories , their attempts to escape from the hell they are in are unsuccessful .
To be honest I can't make myself see these stories of women sold into sex slavery for giving pleasure to men , for to me human trafficking is the worst crime on the planet . But something made me hold on to seeing the rest of the movie---maybe it was the atmosphere of the mystical orient that the movie creates . Even though I am an oriental myself ( I am from India ) , this was a different variety of orient I was seeing---the Japanese form .
And the film certainly recreates the society of Japan on celluloid , and it also wonderfully recreates the era of the 1930s in Japan . Photography is good too , though the film looks like it has forever been shot in the dark ; maybe that is because it deals with ladies of the night....
Or maybe that is because the film deals with a dark theme---the life of a Geisha , which is filled with many moments of sorrow and others of despair....
But our heroine ( here I revert to the Indian practice of calling the character played by the leading actress as 'heroine' ) is a lionheart , trying to survive through all the heartbreak and trying to triumph against the odds . And heartbreaking moments are many , brought about by a jealous rival older geisha who fears that our heroine may outclass her in the profession one day , and also brought by those whose ambitions are destroyed by our heroine's march towards success .
However in her march towards success , our heroine breaks one golden rule of a geisha---that as woman born to give pleasure to many men she cannot fall in love . For love demands fidelity to one person and her profession is such that she cannot remain loyal to one man .
Instead , our heroine has one outstanding desire in among all the trials and tribulations in life---to get as close to and be a part of the life of the man she has fallen in love with . And she is ready to strain her wits and renounce her pleasures to reach her goal . But her enemies come to know about her secret desire too , and use it to give her further heartache . How long will she hold on to hope....??
The second world war interrupts this world and temporarily the life of our heroine is turned upside down . And at the end of the war comes a new phenomenon---the American occupation of the country . Along with the occupation come American soldiers flush with dollars and also flush with unbridled lust....
So how does our lovely geisha cope with the new situation ??
Does she get the love of the man she has dared to love for so long ?? Does he even know about it ??
Does a woman of her profession and in her situation have the right to fall in love at all ??
Can a woman sold as a sex slave in childhood ever dream of happiness ??
Watch the movie for the answers....it will be a good watch....
The whole world loves a lover.....
And like a hopeless romantic I found myself rooting for the heroine to get her love and her happiness .
Or maybe that was the effect of the film....
.....For the director has woven tapestry of romance wonderfully over the setting of the film in the magical orient . And he has created a bygone era of peace and war with practiced ease on the silver screen . It would be hard to resist seeing such a tale on celluloid....
Verdict---Very good .
Last edited by ashdoc; 08-24-14 at 03:39 AM.
