Customer Reviews

A Geisha [VHS]

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This movie is the most authentic depiction of the clash of tradition and modernity in the geisha world. In the old system, a geisha was under contract and was sometimes strongly encouraged, if not forced, to take a patron (ie., become a mistress), even if she had no feeling for the man. Although nowadays no forcing goes on, this movie deals with the early post-WWII era when attitudes in the geisha world were in transition. This poignant film, Mizoguchi's second to deal extensively with geisha (the first was "Sisters of Gion"), gives an one an excellent feel for the life in Kyoto's Gion geisha quarter fifty years ago. I have seen all the available films and videos about geisha, as well as numerous Japanese programs on aspects of the geisha world, and think that "A Geisha" gives the most complete and authentic view of geisha of any I have seen.

If you've been swept up by the recent Geisha craze, you may want to have a look at this video. The 1950's script and acting seem stilted by today's standards, but the overall effect of the film is still engaging. A young apprentice is taken in for training by high-minded but somewhat reclusive geisha. Both mentor and student soon learn that modern customers want more from both of them than artistic accomplishment. There are lush scenes of geisha performing music and dance, as well as moments of poignancy as each woman wrestles with the seedier side of their profession.

Miyoharu is a geisha in the Gion district, "the pleasure quarter" of Kyoto. As the film opens she is visited by Eiko, a 16-year old girl who has been farmed out to an uncle after the death of her mother and the failure of her father's business. The uncle has complained about the cost of Eiko's mother's funeral (which Miyoharu says that she, not the uncle, paid) and demands restitution in the form of sexual favors from the girl.

Eiko pleads with Miyoharu to act as her mentor so that she can become a maiko, or apprentice geisha, and escape from her uncle's tyranny.

Miyoharu asks Eiko if she knows how to play the shamisen (a little) and asks her to stand up so that Miyoharu can evaluate her figure (good). Finally she agrees to take the younger woman on as her imooto (little sister).

Eiko's training begins and there are numerous sequences of Eiko and the other apprentices practicing shamisen or dance and listening to lectures by a grandmotherly older woman. During one of these scenes, the matriarch explains that the new postwar constitution, thrust on the vanquished nation by the American conquerors, guarantees them unprecedented freedoms. She however adds her own disclaimer, lest the the naïve young women think that gender equity, theoretically now official policy, can really work in the face of centuries of tradition.

But the younger generation has been infected with new ideas. After Eiko's first night out at a party with Miyoharu, she gets reeling drunk. "You're postwar," Miyoharu chides her. Eiko retorts, "and you're prewar." Herein is contained one central theme of the film: the shift in values that is taking place. Another, the oppression of women, is a recurrent theme in Mizoguchi's work.

Part of Eiko's education is learning about the patron system through conversation with fellow apprentices. The conflict between a tradition that objectifies women, placing them under an obligation to serve a man they may not care for, and the urge to follow one's heart's desires, is one that Eiko finds it impossible to resolve.

The conflict is brought into focus when on a trip to Tokyo both geisha reject advances by their customers. Returning to Kyoto they find that the madam of the Yoshikimi house is outraged by their failure to please these two important customers. The two women find themselves boycotted by the teahouses of Gion.

Finally Miyoharu breaks down and agrees to give in to her client. Miyoe finds out and urges her not to succumb, but Miyoharu insists she is trapped in the life of a geisha and has no other choice. Hoping to spare her young protégé, she tells her: "from now on I'm your only patron." In the end, the sisters prepare to attend another party; after Miyoharu's capitulation they have once again found favor among the teahouses of Gion. Miyoharu tells her tearful younger sister, "you'll mess up your hair." The geisha's elaborate coiffure, the emblem of her desirability, is also a symbol of her bondage.

Mizoguchi is one of the giants of classic Japanese cinema, and this film is highly recommended on its own merits (as are his other films, especially Ugetsu, Sansho the Bailiff, and The Life of Oharu, which deals relentlessly with abuse and exploitation of women). I especially urge readers of Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha to see this film, which provides an unromanticized picture of the realities of geisha life.

This movie is an older black and white movie about a young woman who, through no fault of her own, is placed in an untenable circumstance so she decides to seek out a woman that her parents knew and talked about and beg her to let her become a Geisha. She almost is not accepted, but then she is and she trains very hard and long and becomes a Maiko on her way to becoming a Geisha. The story is sad and tragic. I've found that many Japanese movies about Geisha make women out to be sort of flittery things like butterflies who really don't serve much of a purpose in their lives other than being slavish to their men and serve their men and also to have children. I do wish that Japanese movies gave more than a two dimensional treatment of women. There are many very very strong women in Japanese society and history, but that's not what comes across in the movies I have seen. This must be a function of the culture. This movie is really good though for the era in which it was produced and if you don't mind black and white movies with subtitles. It really makes you just wish that it had been done in color because this is a movie about MAIKO more than Geisha and HELLO the girl's father is a NASHIGIN WEAVER! He lives in a district renowned for their beautiful kimono and obi! The movie should be re-made with a better dialogue and putting in all the beautiful COLORS. If you would like to learn about Maiko and Geisha this movie is pretty good.