Memoirs Of A Geisha – Rated PG 13, is yet another reason why a great book should never be adapted into a motion picture. Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) attempts to bring Arthur Golden’s international bestseller about the mysteries of the geisha world, to the big screen. As a young girl, Ziyi Zhang is taken from her home and cast into a house (a sort of training ground) for would-be geishas. While the book grasped the reader with every page-turning, all-consuming chapter, the movie instead jumps in leaps and bounds through critical plot points, that would otherwise bond us to our star and her attrocities. Ken Watanabe portrays the Chairman, her lifelong love interest who manages to show up at the most unexplained and convenient times, much like a fairygodmother. Yet by the time this Japanese Cinderella tale finally catches up with itself, and we catch up with it, something is clearly missing. Conventionally, by Hollywood standards, the ending works. Artistically it fails in its final destination. All that said, its lovely to look at. Had the movie been judged on visuals only, it would be considered a masterpiece. Two and a half tiaras.
