Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 American epic film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment and by Douglas Wick's Red Wagon Productions. The picture was directed by Rob Marshall and was released in the United States on December 9, 2005 by Columbia Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures. DreamWorks was given studio credit only. It stars Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Youki Kudoh, and Suzuka Ohgo. Production took place in southern and northern California and in several locations in Kyoto, including the Kiyomizu temple and the Fushimi Inari shrine.

Memoirs of a Geisha tells the story of a young girl, Chiyo Sakamoto, who is sold by her family to an okiya, a geisha house. Her new family then sends her off to school to become a geisha. This movie is mainly about older Chiyo and her struggle as a geisha to find love, in the process making a lot of enemies.
The film was nominated for and won numerous awards, including nominations for six Academy Awards, and eventually won three: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

The Japanese release of the film was titled Sayuri, the titular character's geisha name.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Chiyo Sakamoto, a poor Japanese girl who has been sold along with her older sister Satsu into a life of servitude by her parents. Chiyo is taken in by the proprietress of a geisha house, Mother, but Satsu is rejected and is sold to another house in the "pleasure district" of the Hanamachi. At the okiya, she meets another young girl named Pumpkin, and also has numerous unpleasant run-ins with the okiya's senior geisha Hatsumomo.

Actors