Memoirs of a Geisha (film)
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Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 American epic period drama film directed by Rob Marshall and adapted by Robin Swicord from the 1997 novel of the same name by Arthur Golden.
Plot
In 1929, Chiyo Sakamoto and her older sister Satsu are sold off by their poor father and taken to Gion, Kyoto. Chiyo is taken in by Kayoko Nitta, known as "Mother", the proprietress of a local Template:Transliteration; Satsu, deemed too unattractive, is sent to a brothel instead. Chiyo also meets "Granny" and "Auntie", the other women who run the house; Pumpkin, another young girl; and the Template:Transliteration's resident geisha, Hatsumomo.
Pumpkin and Chiyo soon begin their education to become future geisha. Hatsumomo, seeing Chiyo as a potential rival, immediately treats her with abuse. Hoping Chiyo will run away, Hatsumomo tells her where she can find Satsu in the red light district. They make plans to run away the following night. When Chiyo tries to escape via the rooftops, she falls and is injured. As a result, Mother stops investing in Chiyo's geisha training and instead makes her a menial servant to pay off her debts. Satsu flees Kyoto and Chiyo never sees her again.
One day, while crying on a riverbank, Chiyo encounters Chairman Ken Iwamura. He buys her a shaved ice dessert and gives her his handkerchief and some money to cheer her up. Touched by his kindness, Chiyo resolves to become a geisha so that she might become a part of the Chairman's life.
Several years later, Pumpkin debuts as a Template:Transliteration under Hatsumomo's tutelage. Shortly afterwards, Chiyo is taken under the wing of Mameha, one of the district's most prominent geisha, who persuades Mother to reinvest in Chiyo's geisha training, promising to pay her twice over after her debut. Chiyo becomes a Template:Transliteration and receives the name Sayuri. At a sumo match, Sayuri is reintroduced to the Chairman, but attracts the attention of his gruff business partner Toshikazu Nobu.
Thanks to Mameha's efforts, and in spite of Hatsumomo's scheming, Sayuri rises in popularity; attracting the attention of many men; including Dr. Crab, and the Baron, Mameha's own Template:Transliteration. In a bidding war for Sayuri's deflowering ceremony, as part of her becoming a full geisha, the winning bid is a record-breaking amount from Dr. Crab. Mother immediately names Sayuri as her adopted daughter and the heiress to the Template:Transliteration, crushing Pumpkin and enraging Hatsumomo.
Upon returning home from the ceremony, Sayuri finds a drunken Hatsumomo in her room, where the latter has found the Chairman's handkerchief. This leads to a fight between the two, in which Hatsumomo eventually starts a fire in the Template:Transliteration. Though the building is saved, Hatsumomo is banished from Gion.
Sayuri's successful career is cut short by the outbreak of World War II. The Chairman relocates her to safety of the countryside, where she works for a kimono maker. After the war ends, Nobu asks Sayuri to help him impress an American Colonel who could approve funding for their business. Sayuri reunites with Mameha, who reluctantly agrees to help Sayuri impress the Colonel, as well as Pumpkin, who is now working as an escort.
Sayuri travels with Nobu, the Chairman, Mameha, Pumpkin, and the American soldiers to the Amami Islands. The Colonel propositions Sayuri, but she rejects him. Nobu confronts Sayuri after seeing this and confesses his desire to become her Template:Transliteration. Sayuri devises a plan to have Nobu catch her being intimate with the Colonel so that he will lose interest, and enlists Pumpkin's help to do so. However, Pumpkin brings the Chairman instead. When confronted, Pumpkin declares it her revenge for Sayuri being adopted by Mother instead of her. Disheartened, Sayuri decides to give up on her pursuit for the Chairman.
After returning to Gion, Sayuri is summoned to a nearby tea-house. Expecting Nobu, Sayuri is instead surprised to see the Chairman. The Chairman confesses his feelings for her, that he always knew of her identity but refused to interfere with Nobu's feelings out of respect, and that he himself arranged for Mameha to become her mentor. Sayuri is finally able to confess her love to the Chairman and they share a kiss.
Cast
