White faces on the Silver Screen

Everyone's a critic, I'm someone, ergo, I'm a critic. A cinema critic. Not quite, but I needed an opening line.

Today I thought I'd make my review of Memoirs of a Geisha, which I mentioned some time ago. If you remember, I had my hopes up for it. Addressing the sole quesion I raised at that time, I did dislike the shade of blue in Sayuri's eyes. But that's just splitting hairs.

It's hard for me to review this movie as a movie alone, regardless of the novel it's adapted from. Even though I as pretty much had at "Amblin" in the opening credits (really, don't you just love everything that comes from there? With the sole exception of ET, perhaps...), I was put off by some not always minor details that got trampled. Of course I realise that, in order for the movie to have an acceptable run time some of the book has to be cut, and that is an art on itself. Think Bram Stoker's Dracula. Francis Ford Coppola did a superb job there. Nevertheless, and even though I think much of the left out information wouldn't really have made it a better film, I still feel some things should not have been left out. Also, some changes in the adaptation weren't great, such as Nobu having both arms. Others work just as fine or even better than the original, perhaps, such as the confrontation between Sayuri and Hatsumomo in the tea house. That Colonel Derricks should replace the minister doesn't work so good, IMO. That Sayuri should meet the Chairman shortly after breaking her arm rather than at the age of fourteen really has little to no impact on the storyline.

The overall look and feel of the picture is quite nice, with the moving shots following the characters as they run quite well done, unlike some movies that plainly remind you of Blair Witch Project in that area.

John Williams, who, by the way, passed on making the music for the fourth Harry Potter film so he could work on this movie, delivered all that was expected once again. The original score is superb and every single piece of background music is awesome. I particularly rememeber an almost tribalistic drumming as Chiyo first becomes a maiko. Incidentally, during that scene a shot of her at the hairdresser shows her visibly upset as her hair is combed with some liquid. In case you wonder what upsets her so much, and even though this isn't evident, the liquid is molten wax, which I wouldn't like to coat my hair in either. Hair gel, anyone?

Lastly, I'd like to call your attention to the fact that very few elements, if any at all, are out of place or time in this movie, which gave painstaking attention to deatil in scenery, props and historical fact so that, even though the plot is a work of fiction, for all you know, could have happened.

Right, that about does it.

Sayonra. Until tomorrow.

ArabianShark's skelleton, unlike other sharks, is made of bone, not cartilage, yet I bow in farewell.


*CRACK*! Ow! Is there a doctor in the house?