24.1.06

reminds me - where was it set - OUTSIDE JAPAN deshou?


















「さゆり」・「Memoirs of a Geisha」の映画、見ないでください

Its a terrible movie that portrays traditional Geisha in the wrong light. The movie concentrates on only one part of the book - the Mizuagi - but forgot alot of the rest of the movie, making Geisha's look like prostitutes. 友達と一緒に見に行った。映画の終わったら、友達は「She wore bad shoes didnt she.」って。ほかの友達は「Her life wasnt bad because her family sold her, or she was separated from her sister, or made to live a life she didnt want, or because she was a prostitute, no, because she had bad shoes!! haha!!」じょうだんといいました。でも、ちょっとまって。or because she was a prostituteっていうじゃない?さゆりはげいしゃでした。Sayuri wasnt a prostitute, and if you read the book, you'll see how her life was so much better than that of her sisters, who was a prostitute because Geisha houses didnt think she was GOOD ENOUGH to be a Geisha.

Geisha are entertainers. Not prostitutes. When you see photos of Japan, or tourist brochures, etc, what do they show? Temples? neon lights? geishas? If Geishas were prostitutes, do you really think that Japan would broadcast it - Come to Japan - the land where Prostitutes once flourished - Dont think so. Shocks me to think that Ken Watanabe and the couple of other Japanese stars agreed to be in it...

Memoirs of a Geisha.
Written by a foriegner
Became a best seller outside Japan
Made into a movie by foreigners
The cast? Foriegners.
The target audience? Foriegners.

And this is a movie thats supposed to 'capture the mood of the orient'.
If you do waste your money on it, dont expect anything authentic.

3 件のコメント:

匿名 さんのコメント...

True say. Take the Korean movie 'Old Boy' for example.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/

It is a twisted movie, but perfect in every sense. Now Hollywood is making a western version and sucking the soul out of it. I am willing to bet 10 to 1 that the remake is going to be cr*p.

It is sad that books have such depth and movies in turn are created for a common-denominator(dumb people) and end up being money greedy.

Such is the way of the world.

Moral of the story is to read more books and to watch movies that were not books first so as to avoid this disappointment.

バイ バイ

karekora さんのコメント...

Coincidentally, Ive just rented Old Boy out. But, the originals are always better, I dont know why hollywood has to waste the money in remaking it - if they want to make money, cant they just re-release the original versions? Is it such a big matter that the cast are non-English speakers and you have to read subs? I hate people who avoid the subbed version of films and go for the dubbed version. DUBBING IS EVIL! ...
anyway...sorry, sudden rant there!

How many other movies have been remade or going to be remade in hollywood....?? let me see...
Ringu,
Ringu 2, (havent watched it, heard they changed the story, so maybe not a remake??)
Ringu 0 Birthday (?)
Juon
Juon 2
Shall We Dance
Ai ni yukimasu

hmm...

匿名 さんのコメント...

They never said that Geisha were prostitutes. In fact, Mameha explicitly said that they are not courtesans.
And when the American General approached Sayuri in the hotspring and asked if he could see her "in private" she told him that that "was not a Geisha's custom"

I know what you mean about it being written/made/acted in by foreigners... but they never, ever made the allegation that the Geisha were prostitutes.