Memoirs of a Geisha

i've never read the book and i heard that people who have read the book think the movie is pretty bad which is usually the case anyway. I used to be a fan of ZZY and i can tell you this is not her best acting THOUGH she speaks the most english in this show! not just "the soup is too salty!" kind but really actually speaks WHOLE sentences, so im pretty impressed. I think the child actress playing ZZY is good and perhaps even better than zzy herself. Gong Li is pretty ok in this show as well though i think its in her nature to be bitchy so it probably takes less acting skill.

*SPOLILER ALERT*Character development wise is very lacking. I was actually very intrigued by the idea of the 'space of a geisha'. they say the geishas have their own space, between the wife and the prostitute, not a mistress but in a space entirely of their own. however they didn't develop this idea much and focused on some lovey dovey themes. the story revolves much around zzy who is trying to be a geisha so that she can get together with this rich pedophile, which she eventually does at the end. interestingly is that the pedophile doesn't grow older though zzy grew like 15 years older. i mean, i tink they handled the theme very well though i just can't get the fact that he fell in love with her when she was SEVEN YEARS OLD!!!
So basically you don't really learn much abt geishas though u get a pretty good insight to them. you do learn about some jap history which is esp cool coz we were on 'the other side' during the war. so its pretty strange to hear something like, "Let us celebrate Hitler's victory!". Other than that, its pretty much the same themes in any love story so there.

Good thing about the show is its art direction and music. I think that is definitely a point to watch the show on its own. very beautiful scenes all nicely choreographed (can't be bothered to spell check) and good use of light and colours. nice costumes and good makeup work too. basically its a pretty show la.

The show does leave me with an impact long after the show and i sometimes reflect on it and the themes so i guess it appeals to me on a deeper level. All in all, watch it la.