“Memoirs of a Geisha” tells the story of Chiyo, an orphaned girl who, at the age of 9, is separated from her sister and sold to a geisha house as a maid where she is treated cruelly by the head geisha Hatsumomo, who is wildly jealous of Chiyo’s beauty. When Chiyo is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo’s rival, she is transformed into the legendary geisha Sayuri.

In the years leading up to World War II, Sayuri enchants the Japanese upper class with her beauty and talents. With every eye on Sayuri, there is only one man whom she wants but cannot have. When it becomes clear the war is headed to Japan, Sayuri is once again torn from the life she knows and the man she loves, and the rich culture and history of the world of the geisha is threatened to end forever.

Directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”), “Memoirs of a Geisha” is a beautifully shot film depicting the heart-wrenching story based on Arthur Golden’s 1997 bestseller of the same name. The audience is taken into the secret world of the geisha, a term that for Westerners has often been wrongly misunderstood as “prostitute.” The narrator tells us that “geisha” means “artist,” and that the training of a geisha is the intense instruction in all of the arts important to Japanese culture.

Zhang Ziyi (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) stars as Sayuri. Although I was disappointed to see that casting directors chose a Chinese actress to portray a Japanese character, I cannot dispute the stunning performance Zhang gives. Gong Li, playing Sayuri’s rival Hatsumomo, steals more than a few scenes with her extraordinary beauty as a willful geisha determined to ruin Sayuri’s chances for success.

My only other issue I take with the film is the language barrier. Because “Memoirs” was filmed for an American audience, the film was shot in English with heavy Japanese accents. The dialogue was at times hurried or muffled beyond understanding. Personally I would have preferred it been shot in Japanese with English subtitles but, of course, the chances of it becoming a box office hit with subtitles would have been slim.

Overall, the film enchanted me with its beauty and rich history. I haven’t read the book yet, but my friends who have tell me the film doesn’t stray from its predecessor. Reading it now will simply fill in and expand the history and the story for me, not change it. This film is great for anyone interested in history or other cultures, or those who simply enjoy romantic dramas. If you’re looking for lots of laughs, however, this is not the film for you. With a beautiful and talented cast, and a story different from many in theaters recently, “Memoirs of a Geisha” is worth going to see on the big screen.

***1/2

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