Memoirs of a Geisha: The Movie

Memoirs of a Geisha can be extremely hard to follow, and if you have not read the book, the movie is extremely misleading. The movie is completely different from the book causing it to be extremely hard to follow at times. At the beginning of the book, we see that Satsu and Chiyo are happy living in their home with their parents. We read that the mother is sick. The movie portrays none of this. The mother is asleep on the bed when they are dramatically taken from their home by Mr. Bekku. This is misleading because to me it is saying that they have done something wrong in the village or in the house, making them have to leave due to this reason alone. The problem with this understanding is that we miss the entire situation beginning with Mr. Tanaka. Mr. Tanaka’s part in the entire book, as well as the movie, is huge. Mr. Tanaka is what Chiyo yearns for and lives for. With Chiyo seeing Mr. Tanaka at the bridge as the Chairman, we get the feeling from the movie that this is the first time that Chiyo and the Chairman have met. This causes a lot of confusion because of the way that Chiyo turns her hatred for Mr. Tanaka into love for the Chairman.

When Chiyo arrives at the okiya, the movie gives a soft feeling to how she is treated. The life of a Geisha is hard and at times is isolating. The movie gives the feeling that Chiyo had many people to help her on her way, as well as to guide her through everything that was needing to be done. This is hardly what the book states happens, because it does not give the grandmother yelling all the time or the troubles that Hatsumomo causes fore Chiyo, as well as Pumpkin. The okiya life almost seemed pleasing and lovely, where the book clearly showed that it was all work and no play. The problem with the portrayal of the movie is that it does not show why Chiyo is constantly wanting to leave, or why Chiyo is so willing to become a Geisha. It makes being a Geisha seem simple and easy instead of being a struggle.

The single most important part in the book for me is when Sayuri meets Nobu at the Sumo match. In the book it states he is considered to be “Mr. Lizard” due to his face and arm missing. Well, in the movie, we come to this part and Nobu has both arms, as well as his face being beautifully scared. The scares in the book are deep and gruesome making it hard to look at Nobu. In the movie, his face is not that hideous. The entire purpose for Sayuri having to be cautious on where she sits in order for Nobu to be able to pour tea or sake is no longer relevant, because in the movie, Nobu has both of his arms. The movie does state that Nobu is a Vet, but the meaning of what he has done for his country is not as effective as it was in the book. I do not like the fact that Nobu is not as “hideous” as he is in the book, because it makes it hard to understand why Hatsumomo is so delighted that Sayuri has taken interest in him instead of another man.

The other part of this section is extremely important because Sayuri finds the Chairman, once again. The problem with the movie is that we don’t know if Sayuri has realized that the Chairman is the same man from the bridge. We see Sayuri looking at him whenever she can, but this could have many different meanings. It could be to see how he reacts to the Sumo compared to Nobu. It could be because she is attracted to him. There is no hint in the movie that Sayuri has realized who the Chairman is until it goes to the next scene and we see her tucking a newspaper clipping away with his handkerchief. If the audience of the movie is not paying attention closely, you could miss the entire fact that the Chairman was the man on the bridge. I feel that this was a scene that lacked in many areas to help the audience understand the meaning and significance of the Sumo match.

The whole incident where Sayuri has to have a cut on her leg so that she can meet Dr. Crab is a mess. The book states that Sayuri enters to get dressed and notices there’s a hole in the kimono. Mameha and her servants come in and Mameha draws the line on Sayuri’s inner thigh. The movie shows Mameha do this, however, it is on her outer thigh. This is hard to understand why the sudden change because the significance of the cut on the inner thigh is to get Dr. Crab to begin imagining things happening. The cut on the outside thigh is less significant because it is not close to the “parts” needing to be imagined. The other thing that I noticed is that Sayuri makes the cut herself in the movie. The book, Mameha has her servant cut Sayuri’s leg. This again is really confusing because all the movie is showing is that Sayuri does what Mameha says when she says it. The book is more significant, in my opinion, because this helps us to see how significant of an event this is for Sayuri. I say that having someone else cut her leg is significant because this will help Sayuri become a full Geisha when she gives up her virginity. It is stated over and over that a Geisha is not a peasant or worker and that she does nothing for herself. The fact that in the book Sayuri has someone else cut her leg helps to demonstrate that a Geisha does nothing for themselves.