JAPAN FORUM Japan Forum Ask questions & discuss travel to Japan in our Japan Forum. Japan Forum also covers Japanese culture, food, Japan fashion, music and politics.
Joined: 08 Dec 2003 Posts: 929 Location: Australia
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 8:50 pm Post subject: "Memoirs of a Geisha" - The Movie
Many of you will be interest in the up coming release of the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha". Based on the novel by Arthur Golden, "Memoirs of a Geisha is a sweeping romantic epic set in a mysterious and exotic world that still casts a potent spell today. The story begins in the years before WWII when a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house."
The release date for the movie in the USA & Canada is December 9th, 2005.
I have yet to find any information on the release date for this movie in Australia. I have contacted Sony Pictures Australia, but I am still waiting for a reply.
I would be interested in anyones reviews of the novel and the movie when it comes out. In particular I am interested to see how accurate the projection of Japanese culture is. _________________ Craig Fryer
Please DO NOT email or PM me a question. Please place your questions in the forum.
All information provided is on an as is basis and is without warranty.
Joined: 08 Dec 2003 Posts: 929 Location: Australia
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 1:40 pm Post subject:
A bit of an update after having viewed the trailer and web site.
It is a pity the three lead female actors are not Japanese. I know it is very hard to find good quality English speaking Japanese actors. As soon as I heard the voice at the start of the trailer I thought it sounded Chinese.
Ken Watanabe has really made an international name for himself with his appearance in "Last Samurai". He has long been famous in Japan, so it is great to see him in this film.
Geisha Makeup
One of the first things that stood out in the trailer was the look of the Geisha. Their faces where very appearing in a western sort of style. Geisha makeup and faces don't normally look like this. The make up used in the film is much more "normal". The face color is very light, but not the stark white as you would normally see on a Geisha (see example of these Maiko - trainee Geisha). This true Geisha makeup is very unnatural (unappealing) to a western audience, so I presume it was changed to make the characters more attractive.
Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 64 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:42 am Post subject:
Isn't it a pity that they are not using Japanese actresses...such a shame. Of course, I'm pretty disappointed, as i have read the book and was totally entranced by it. It was so good i thought it was a true story, only to get to the end of the book and the authors note to find out it was infact fiction. Oh well, i don't expect the movie to be as good as the book was, but why couldn't they stay true to the real-life Geisha and at least re-create the very essence of them, which is their make-up.
I'd have to say American made movies are the least favourable on my list. I think a Japanese director should have made it.
My husband really likes Ken Watanabe, and we were happy to see him in The Last Samurai.
Anyway, thankyou for the news, i was happy to hear something from you about the movie, as i did not know there it had been made. _________________ I'm an Aussie woman married to a Japanese guy. (=^_^=)
Please DO NOT email or PM me a question. Please place your questions in the forum.
All information provided is on an as is basis and is without warranty.
Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 284 Location: Melbourne
Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:27 pm Post subject:
japanese wrote:
Geisha Makeup
One of the first things that stood out in the trailer was the look of the Geisha. Their faces where very appearing in a western sort of style. Geisha makeup and faces don't normally look like this. The make up used in the film is much more "normal". The face color is very light, but not the stark white as you would normally see on a Geisha (see example of these Maiko - trainee Geisha). This true Geisha makeup is very unnatural (unappealing) to a western audience, so I presume it was changed to make the characters more attractive.
yeah, I picked up on that after seeing the trailer. Though I haven't read the book yet, I don't really intend to see the movie. Not in cinemas at least. Maybe on DVD.
I was quite disappointed to see the casting of this. Watanabe Ken is a great actor, and I was pleased to see him cast in it. For the lead actresses though, playing Japanese while speaking english with a chinese accent really doesn't work for me.
From the trailer I saw, the only thing truly Japanese (apart from Watanabe Ken) was the music. Not the Last Samurai theme (which wasn't composed by a Japanese) but the shamisen track. I recognised that as a song which the Yoshida brothers (Yoshida Kyoudai -hope the spelling is correct) played on a CD I got last year. They're quite well known in Japan and play a lot of traditional songs as well as some quite modern ones. (worth buying or at least listening too )
My GF, who is Japanese is interested in seeing the movie though. I think I'd prefer to read the book. There's a greater sense of authenticity in books which just can't be shown in most films, no matter how much research the filmmakers do.
I don't get it. I believe it's a wonderful book and I'm looking forward to the movie and seing as they did the best they could with what they had I believe its a great book and as far as I know a great movie. It shows thing usually unknow to us les cultural people. For the life of me I can't see how you can be negative about it. As far as I've seen, the woman who playes Sayuri did a great job desoite her ethnicity.
Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 284 Location: Melbourne
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:08 pm Post subject:
I've got nothing against her as an actress, but I just don't think the was right for the role. Her accent is quite strong, and to me, she just doesn't do 'japanese' well.
The same goes for any other actor playing another nationality. The movie may do well, and the actors may be great, but to those who know that culture, it just doesn't work.
For instance, being an Aussie, I was able to laugh at the Aussie Simpsons episode. I know they obviously weren't intending to reflect actual Australian culture, but I'm sure there are quite a few people who thought it was accurate, not knowing much about Aus. To any Aussie though, we know better. I hope that makes my point a little clearer. _________________
Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Los Angeles, California USA
Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 10:33 am Post subject: 'Western' Racism Ingrained in Japan
The history of the Japanese people began about 10,000 years ago, when Black Anu from North and East Africa migrated to the East after the Great Anu War. The Anu were Black Negroids, similar in appearance to today's Anuak of the Sahara and the Melanesians of Fiji and New Guinea (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!). The Black Anu settled in All of Japan including the Northern part. The Anu resembled Black Aboriginals of Australia.
Another group of ancient Blacks occupied the Southern and Central Part of Japan. They were Negroids from Africa and Melanesia related to today's East Africans. They are said to have introduced thousands of African words into the prehistoric Japanese language which was later added to with words from Chinese and Korean ( see http://www.stewartsynopsis.com/links_to_japanese_and_african_la.htm )
African scientists and linguists including the former Prime Minister of Senegal have pointed out that the Japanese language and aspects of Japanese culture is African in origin, (see "Susu Economics," pub by www.AuthorHouse.com also see http://community.webtv.net/nubianem ) and "African Presence in Early Asia," at Transaction Publishers, New Bruinswick, NJ also http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/runoko.html )
HOW THE JAPANESE BECAME PERCEIVED AS 'RACIST'
The Japanese in the US and Brazil are more akin to the Japanese character before World War II and the influence of the Western nations and some in the Americas. In fact, the Japanese in Brazil and the Afro-Brazilian population have a very good relationship. In like manner, the Chinese population in the Caribbean and Cuba and the Afro-Caribbeans have very good relationships although both respect each others culture.
see PLANET CAPOEIRA www.planetcapoeira.com The Japanese of Hawaii are also a very likeable people and are even more open and free-minded than Japanese in the US, perhaps due to the suffering that Japanese-Americans faced. So, we cannot say that the current adoption of racist attitude by some Japanese is part of the ancient inferiority complex that grew out of the barbarian and Neanderthal-brained and gened Europeans whose feeling of inferiority and isolation developed into racism against the DESCENDENTS OF HAM, THE BLACK RACE.
HOLLYWOOD'S 'DIVIDE AND CORRUPT' AGENDA
If the Hollywood propagandists and elite have anything to do with creating movies, it is no surprise that they will create movies without doing the proper research. After all, the Hollywood of today was created by former German propagandists, Russian Jews and victims of the Holocaust. For many decades they took on the agenda of attacking African-Americans with their propaganda movies that still shed a lucitive (bad, evil, lucifite) light on other people.
Yet, anyone who remembers the movie 'BIRTH OF A NATION' by DW Griffith will recognize that when the powers that be have an agenda of dividing people and spreading hatred, they usually create movies, music and propaganda to bring it about.
Hence this is the reason why Oscar Mischeaux, the Black American Movie Producer began to produce a large number of movies as early as the 1914's and continued into the 1950's. That is why the 'Blaxploitation' films of the seventies were rejected by Black nationalists and separatists in the US.
So, it would be better to try to find out why the movie 'Geisha' is being made at this time and why it was created to create controversy. In the final analysis, we have to recognize that we are all from the same human source. Some of us may still have Neanderthal genes but there is more African (modern human) chromosomes in today's human beings. According to Scientific American, 95-100 percent of all Africans/Blacks from Africa/African Diaspora of America and Europe, in the modern/recent ages carry the African 'alu.' About 75 percent of Caucasians carry the African alu. About 60 percent of Asians (Mongoloid) carry the African chromosome 'alu,' while about 90- 100 percent of the Indo-Negroids and Negritoes of India/Asia carry the African alu/chromosome (see http://dalitstan.org/books/sudroidhttp://dalitstan.org/sudroid/books )
At the same time, both Asians and Europeans have 50 percent of an alu (chromosome) that is found in only about 5 percent of Blacks in Africa and South India/Melanesia. Yet both Caucasians and Mongoloids have a mixed amount of the African chromosomes and the Eurasian chromosome.
There is a 'mysterious' chromosome that is found in Europeans and some Asians that is of possible archaic human origins.
So, the idea of racism or any type of prejudice based on skin, ethnic origins or culture is demonic and it is unhuman. We say that humans will be prejudiced at what they do not know, but they should get over it and rather than loving and treating dogs like humans and humans like dogs, they should understand the difference between humans and dogs and treat humans like humans and dogs like dogs.
Racism comes from the lower part of the back of the brain. It is due to having a poorly developed FRONTAL LOBE. The Neanderthal semi-human and archaic human with full body hair and pale skin who roamed the wilderness of Eurasia in prehistoric times did not have a fully developed frontal lobe. That part of the brain was fully developed in those people who migrated from the SOUTHERN REGIONS AND WERE 100 PERCENT HUMAN.
So, being that most Mongoloids and Negroids lack body hair (which Africans say is evidence of Neanderthal origins) then Mongoloids and Negroids are of Southern origins. Caucasians are of Northern, cold, damp origins because they have excessive body hair which is conducive to evolving in a cold and damp environment.
Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Posts: 1 Location: North of Hazzard County
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:53 am Post subject:
A friend and I saw Memoirs on Christmas day. For me, the first 15 minutes seemed stilted and "staged". Then the film settled down into a smooth, flowing story.
My biggest complaint was that the film was not made with Japanese dialogue and English subttitles. I am a fan of Japanese anime and Asian (Japanese, Korean, Chinese) movies and usually prefer my anime, films and Japanese TV shows in the original language.
Memoirs was more enjoyable than The Last Samurai but not as good as the Sea Is Watching. But then, it was a "chick flick".
Whether or not it was authentic, I can't say, but it was a very enjoyable 136 minutes. My friend, who read the book, explained what was different from the book and the film. The movie version seemed toned down from the book so not to offend or confuse the American movie goer. Oh well.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
HOME
)
