Memoirs of a Geisha

Usually one would read a book before watching the movie but I did the opposite for Memoirs of A Geisha. So which was better?

First of all for those of you who haven't seen it( why not?!!) the basic plot is as follows. The story focuses on the life of a young girl Chiyo who came from a fishing village. Due to her parent's poor health Chiyo and her sister (Satsu) were taken to Kyoto. Chiyo was separated from her sister and was taken in by an okiya owner known as Mother.

Chiyo lived in the okiya with another girl similar to her age called Pumpkin and a Geisha called Hatsumomo. We learn of the struggles Chiyo faced as she is badly bullied by Hatsumomo. Chiyo tried to escape from the okiya to run away with her sister but was unsuccessful.

As her punishment, Chiyo had to serve as a maid to repay her debt to the okiya but a geisha called Mameha came to her rescue and Chiyo ( who later became known as Sayuri) became Mameha's apprentice. The love interest is between Sayuri & the Chairman. I won't spoil the ending for you if you haven't seen it already but I'm sure you can guess what happens.

The movie had wonderful cinematography but I felt there wasn't much chemistry between Zhang Zi Yi and Ken Watanabe( who is cute by the way! i think he was in the Last Samurai ). Fortunately, Gong Li,acted the part of Hatsumomo convincingly.I did sympathise with Hatsumomo because she was so insecure of herself and threatened by Chiyo up to the point that she was willing to make Chiyo's life as miserable as possible.

When you read the book you can "sense" the build up of the tension between the Chairman and Sayuri. I didn't feel the movie managed to recreate this tension in some of the scenes. Another example would be Sayuri's relationship with Mr Nobu.In the book, Sayuri was fond of Nobu in a platonic way but we never see the friendship developing further in the movie.

Some people may say that the book is boring at places because of the slow pace but I would have to disagree. I think this only adds to the atmosphere and mood of the story. The movie had edited many of the scenes in the book which is understandable because there's only so much you can fit in a movie. It is a shame though because personally some of the scenes especially the ones in Sayuri's later life would have added more depth to the movie.

So would I recommend the movie? Yes, even though I felt the movie wasn't as good as I thought it could be, it made me want to read the book. The book is definitely a good read (kept me entertained on my train journey from Slough to London this week!) The writing is brilliant and I felt that I saw a glimpse of the highs and lows of a geisha's life.

I would recommend you to see the movie and read the book too if you haven't already done so. Even if you have already read the book after watching the movie you will want to read it again. :)

The next movie I'm looking forward to is the adaptation of Dan Brown's book "The Da Vinci Code". I hope the director and cast can live up to the high expectations of the book. Watch this space...

Time Traveler's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger

You might classify this as a science fiction book but then again you might think of it as a love story.Either way , this book is fabulous!

Clare (6 yrs old ) met the love of her life Henry (36 yrs old). Claire married Henry when she was 22 and Henry was 30. Confused?!

Well.. Henry is a time traveller who suffers from a genetic condition where he finds himself pulled into his past or future. Henry's favourite place is visiting Claire in the meadows behind her house in her younger years where they first fell in love.

The story follows how the couple cope with Henry's condition and how they try to lead a "normal" life . Claire grows up waiting to meet Henry in "real time". When Claire met him, Claire knew parts of Henry's future of which he did not yet experienced.

Henry becomes older and learns more about his condition and enlists the help of geneticist Dr Kendring but it proved to be unsuccessful and we find out how he copes with his condition.

Time Traveler's Wife touches on many issues:

Firstly, the idea that as humans we often wonder what if we could turn back time and experience things we wish we could. Henry's mother died when he was a little boy in a car accident and he would often time travel into the past to see his mother when she was still alive. Although he can travel into the past he could not change destiny and prevent his mother from dying in the accident.

Secondly, the idea of religion and believing in God. In the story Claire was brought up in a Christian family who practised Christian values but she starts doubting the idea of God as she grew older as events start to unfold around her...e.g. her mother's death, her miscarriages.

Thirdly, can people ever move on with their lives after the loss of a loved one? We learn about Henry's dad who never recovered from the loss of his mother.

Lastly, we can't help wanting Henry & Claire to have a happy ending in the story. Claire spent her whole life waiting for Henry knowing perfectly well that Henry may not be around forever. She was willing to take that risk in order to spend the precious little moments she had with Henry.

I couldn't help wondering whether we can ever find love this strong in our real lives today? How do you know when you meet someone that he will be the one you would like to spend the rest of your life with? And how do you cope with life when that certain someone is gone forever?

Love conquers all.