Memoirs of a Geisha

Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh

In the years before World War II, a Japanese child is torn from her penniless family to work as a maid in a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms in...( read more  read more... )to 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 who is out of her reach.

Flixster Users

82% liked it

Critics

35% liked it

PG-13, 2 hrs. 16 min.

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Released: December 16, 2005

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DVD Released: March 28, 2006

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Top Flixster Reviews


  • December 27, 2008
    by the time it got interesting i was no longer interested. there was one mesmerising scene in which the protagonist dances on a stage very dramatically. towards the end i saw a fire... some screaming... and some war planes... but by then it was all too late for me to care!
  • December 16, 2008
    Pending Review...
  • October 6, 2008
    The experience of watching this film is mesmerizing. Not only is it beautiful, but the acting is terrific all around. I didn't want it to end. Can't wait to see it again to soak in the atmosphere and story more deeply. The use of color alone is worth studying closely. Later revel... ...( read more )
  • August 10, 2008
    real nice dramatic flick
  • July 19, 2008
    One of my all time favourite movies. Memoirs of a geisha portrays the authentic eastern beauty. Beautiful, impressive, great cinematography.
  • July 3, 2009
    haha i think its supposed to be a sad movie, but watching it with friends made me laugh throughout the ending

Critic Reviews


View more Memoirs of... reviews at RottenTomatoes.com
December 27, 2005
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Ultimately, Memoirs of a Geisha compares unfavorably with the book, though it offers pleasures of its own. full review

December 27, 2005
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

It is a lush, blushingly romantic portrait of Asian culture as seen through a Western lens. full review

December 22, 2005
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Shot for shot, Memoirs of a Geisha is one of the most beautiful movies in years, with due credit to Don Beebe's widescreen camera work, John Myhre's meticulous production design and Colleen Atwood's o... full review

December 15, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I object to the movie not on sociological grounds but because I suspect a real geisha house floated on currents deeper and more subtle than the broad melodrama on display here. full review

December 9, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

It skips lightly over the surface of its rich material, more preoccupied with making pretty pictures than dipping below the surface so that you can experience the world through the eyes of its traumat... full review

December 9, 2005
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Memoirs of a Geisha is one long oxymoronic exercise in attempting to show delicacy through overkill. full review

December 9, 2005
Claudia Puig, USA Today

With its gorgeous cinematography, costumes and production design, Geisha is a visual feast, but it lacks emotional heft and leaves the viewer strangely unsatisfied. full review

December 9, 2005
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

Feels more like a calculated product than a work of art. full review

December 8, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Slowness doesn't necessarily equal beauty or power or profundity. full review

November 30, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Any doubts about three Chinese actresses speaking English with Japanese accents vanish in the face of their deeply felt performances and the world Marshall conjures with magical finesse. full review

Comments


  • bowman77624
    September 14, 2007
    I Loved this Movie...it was even better the second time!
  • neliabriones
    August 26, 2007
    I really love this movie!! I also read the book from cover to cover!!
  • zackiprincess
    August 9, 2007
    i absilutialy love this movie, i made my Boyfriend watch is at least 50 times! lol, and he didnt mind. thank you!
  • brittanyquast2007
    June 8, 2007
    I love this movie I read the book and couldn't wait for the movie. Its one of my sll time fav's
  • shrkntz
    May 13, 2007
    Culteral,dramatic,interesting,beautiful depictions, indepth emotional parts. This movie was balanced. It helped me understand the geisha and as well understand women in a chinese culture. I liked this movie although it was long. But long is good because atleast the movie was not crammed. I would say it is for 13+. It isn't for everyone but I found it entertaining.
  • navywife62
    April 23, 2007
    Having recently lived in Japan I really loved this movie. It made me feel like I was there again. It was a great story and I loved it. I have the movie and the book, I think it was very well done, I felt the culture as I watched this movie.
  • sweetiesangelgurlz01
    April 13, 2007
    Hi....
    I love this movie. It really great. You're great actress. :)
  • Donegal
    April 5, 2007
    Ok, when I first saw this movie, I was really drawn in by it's beauty. However, I have educated myself, and I now know how truly inaccurate both this movie and the book it is based on really true. If you REALLY want to learn about geisha, read "Geisha, A Life" by Mineko Iwasaki. She is the woman that the book by Arthur Golden is 'based on', and the one who wrote her own book because the book he wrote is inaccurate. She was actually a geisha, and so I trust her more than him. Basically, the film is something that is pretty to look at, but not take seriously. It's just too fictional.
  • eagle39614
    March 18, 2007
    This is my favorite movie of all time and I watch it over and over and I almost know all of the lines!
  • dannycook123
    February 26, 2007
    This movie is fantasic Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li work well together love it.

    All FANS of ZHANG ZIYI who are on BEBO please become a GROUPIE of ZHANG ZIYI's FAN page at,

    http://Zhang-Ziyi-Fans. bebo.com

    thanks.

    P.S Zhang Ziyi is rules.

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