Zhang Ziyi Movie Marathon (Part II)

Memoirs of a Geisha

Wonderful, wonderful movie starring Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe and Koji Yakusho. Read the book a few years back, and this movie really brings it to life. Watching it is like being transported to another place and time.

The movie follows the life of Chiyo: how she was sold to a geisha house, how she became a geisha-reject, how she met the Chairman (which became the turning point of her life), how Mameha trained her up to become a full-pledged geisha, how Sayuri (the former Chiyo) got to meet her Chairman (and Mr. Nobu) again, how the War came and disrupted everyone's plans, how the Chairman and Mr. Nobu made their comeback with a little help from the Americans (and the former geishas), how Sayuri disgraced herself in the eyes of Mr. Nobu with the incident with the General, how that turned out to be a good thing, and how she and the Chairman eventually became a couple.

Powerful acting, exotic costumes and sets, intriguing plot.