Release Year: 2005 Rating: PG-13 Director: Rob Marshall Producer: Patricia Whitcher, Steven Spielberg, Bobby Cohen Distributor: DreamWorks SKG, Sony Pictures
In the years before World War II, a Japanese child is torn from her penniless family to work as a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri. Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man beyond her reach.
cast
Gong Li as Hatsumomo Ken Watanabe as Michelle Yeoh as Mameha Youki Kudoh as Zhang Ziyi as Sayuri Nitta
quote
Narrator (Old Sayuri): [as Chiyo watches the Chairman leave with geisha.] In that moment, I changed from a girl facing nothing but emptiness, to someone with purpose. I saw that to be a geisha could be a stepping stone to something else...a place in his world.
For movie lovers the end of the year is an exciting time since the studios are apt to send us many lavish Christmas presents -- although they'd probably want them labeled as the more politically correct term of holiday gifts. This season of giving actually starts as soon as the leaves begin to turn, since that is when Hollywood's mind switches from the summer's popcorn pictures to the fall and early winter Oscar bait. The result is that some extremely intriguing and entertaining movies begin to appear at our local multiplexes. This year these rewarding films include such wonderful productions as CAPOTE and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.