Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on October 29. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Chiyo and her older sister Satsu are sold by their impoverished fisherfolk parents. While Chiyo is purchased by a geisha house (an okirya), Satsu is sold to a brothel. While Chiyo arouses the hatred of the senior geisha in the okirya, Hatsumomo, a slightly older girl, nicknamed ‘Pumpkin’ takes her under her wing. On October 29, 1929 [31:13 to 26:16] Chiyo tries to run away and join her sister, but falls and breaks her arm. She learns her parents are dead. She meets ‘The Chairman” a businessman and falls in love with him. An older geisha Mameha, agrees to adopt Chiyo, now called Sayuri as her protégé. After a period of intense study Sayuri becomes an apprentice geisha and again meets The Chairman and his business partner, the disfigured Nobu, who had saved his life. Mamehe sets up a bidding war between Nobu and Dr. “Crab” for Sayuri’s virginity. However, Hatsumomo engineers for the Baron, Mameha’s lover to invite Sayuri to his estate, where he rapes her. However, Sayri’s price ends up being the highest ever reported. As a result Mrs. Nitta the owner of the okirya, dumps Pumpkin, whom she had named as her heir in favor of Sayuri. Hatsumomo, who had acted as Pumpkin’s patron fights with Sayuri, causing a fire that partly destroys the okirya and leaves for good. Nobu saves Sayuri during World War II. Afrerwards he asks her to help him and The Chairman impress an American Col. Derricks of the occupation forces, who controls the future of their business. Sayuri, Pumpkin, Nobu, The Chairman and Derricks take a trip together. Nobu tells Sayuri he wants her to become his mistress. Sayuri asks Pumpkin to bring Nobu to where she is seducing Derricks, so Nobu will reject her. However in order to get revenge for what she sees as Sayuri’s taking the okirya from her, Pumpkin brings The Chairman instead. However, Sayuri learns The Chairman had arranged for Mamehe to take over her training, and that he had stood aside while Nobu pursued Sayuri, as he owed Nobu his life. Now that Nobu had rejected her, The Charman and Sayuri declare their love for each other.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Vintage Books, NY, 2005) at page 126 gives the date she tried to run away.
Director - Rob Marshall
Screenwriter - Robin Swicord
Screenwriter - Robin Swicord
Awards – The film won the Best Art Direction, Best cinematography and Best Costume Design Oscars. It was also nominated for Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 78th Academy Awards.
Runtime - 2 hours 25 minutes
Released – November 29, 2005
Released – November 29, 2005
Starring - Zhang Ziyi as Sayuri, Suzuka Ohgo as Young Chiyo, Shizuko Hoshi as Elderly Sayuri, (narrator), Gong Li as Hatsumomo, Samantha Futerman as Satsu, Kaori Momoi as Mrs. Nitta, Ken Watanabe as The Chairman, Kōji Yakusho as Nobu, Michelle Yeoh as Mameha, Youki Kudoh as Pumpkin, Zoe Weizenbaum as Young Pumpkin, Tsai Chin as Auntie, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Baron, Cathy Shim as The Baron's Guest, Kenneth Tsang as General, Karl Yune as Koichi, Ted Levine as Col. Derricks, Paul Adelstein as Lt. Hutchins
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015.
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