STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Just saw it as well. I thought it was absolutely terrible!! As an example, I read the book in one night, because I was so engrossed in it. I almost fell asleep during the movie. IMO they took a story about hardship, and made it into a cheesy romance story. It seemed like they went to great lengths to make the story incredibly simple, with a clear definition between good and evil (think black and white) and an extremely simplified recount of everything Sayuri and Mameha did up until Sayuri and the Chairman got together.

As for the Chinese actresses thing, I think Ziyi Zhang was a very believable actress, although her face, admittedly does not look very Japanese. On the other hand Gong Li (Hatsumomo) made an AWESOME geisha. That first scene where you see Hatsumomo is pure LUXURY! On the other-other hand, I thought Michelle Yeoh was a terrible choice. Where's the perfect oval face? Where's the grace and charm that made her such a famous geisha? Why was she so old? And another thing! Why was Mameha never in "geisha" makeup? I know that traditionally older geisha wear less ornate kimono, and hair ornaments, and sort of phase out the maiko style makeup...but Hatsumomo wasn't a maiko, and she wore full makeup everytime she went out!

For the sticklers, there were a bunch of costume errors, and they kept forgetting to do the sparks on the back thing. Not to mention that the story was entirely ass-backwards!!

I give it 5.5/10, if you want to see a corny love story with pretty clothes, see it, if you want a good story, read the book.

ive read the book too and yes, the book and the movie really had nothing to do with each other but i still think it was worth it to see. as an avid reader i have learned not to base my opinions of movies on what the book was like. to me, it's an apples and oranges thing and to compare the two is simply silly. i know that every time a movie comes out that was originally a book the movie won't be as good or as detailed but i don't care. i mean, really, if a director was to put everything in the movie that was in the book the movie would be 7 hours long and no one would want to watch it. that's why i think it's important to read the book and then see the movie. imho, i loved the movie, because it was nice to see images and pictures, not because the story was exactly like in the book or because the movie taught me things like the book did, but because the movie was pure entertainment. again, imho, the book was wonderful because i learned things, but the movie was good because it was entertaining. two different things in two different settings.

that's so sad the movie ruined the book for you...the book was fantastic. you know what you also might like? wild swans by jung chang. this is the description from the publisher off of barnes and noble...

Wild Swans is the story of three generations in twentieth-century China, and is a record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love.

Jung Chang describes the life of her grandmother, a warlord's concubine; her mother's struggles as a young idealistic Communist; and her parent's experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a "barefoot doctor," a steelworker, and an electrician. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history.

i promise that this book will prolly never be made into a movie...

 

speaking of more asian stuff...may i ask...do you watch a lot of "asian" movies, read a lot of "asian" books, im always looking for new/interesting things about asia.

i just finished the book, so now i will let myself see the movie.  i am hoping to love it--i LOVED the book.  i am totally obsessed with all things japanese and especially geisha culture. 

when i went to kyoto a few years ago, we stayed in a tiny inn that was an old converted okiya, on the banks of the stream that runs through gion.  we also went to see the annual geisha dances at the kaburenjo theater, which are in april.  so i was picturing exactly where they were the whole time i was reading the book--it was so awesome! 

Bumblebee, your trip to kyoto sounds amazing.  I have always loved all things japanese as well, eventually would like to adopt a japanese kid.  But anyways... That must have been so cool to stay at an old okiya and see the dancing, and then to read memoirs of a geisha, it must have been so much clearer to you, than it was to me.  I am so obsessed with that book, it was amazing.  I hope one day I can visit kyoto and experience what you did.  Any pics?

I just got back from the movie.  I read the book several years ago--did it come out in 2000?  If so, that's probably when I read it.  Anyway, I think I liked the movie because I had read the book.  Movies are never able to portray emotional nuances the way a book can, and I think I subconsciously added those to the movie.

Admittedly, I don't tend to watch movies as a critic nor do I remember many details from books.  So I enjoyed the movie and agree that it was visually enchanting.