Review of Geisha House, The

Introduction

Geisha, definition: One of a class of professional women in Japan trained from girlhood in conversation, dancing, and singing in order to entertain professional or social gatherings of men. Add to it discipline, refinement, etiquette, exquistite kimono`s and perhaps an air of mystique, and I think we`re getting closer to the definition of what `geisha` is.

I wasn`t sure what to expect when I watched this, I thought it would be more of a Japenese period piece from the cover, but it`s not. The period it`s set in is 1950s Japan and it tells the story of one young girl, Tokiko (about 15 or 16 years old), and that of the resident geishas of the Fujinoya Geisha House.

Tokiko`s family are in financial dire straits so she left home and works at the Fujinoya Geisha House. She helps her family as much as she can financially, by sending money every month but she doesn`t earn enough for what she does. To that end, the best way she sees of earning a living is to become a geisha.

Tokiko has some way to go before she can undertake the training to become a geisha so her first step is `maiko`, or young geisha. She works in the Fujinoya Geisha House, one of the few remaining geisha houses that adhere to centuries old traditions where she helps to run the household and listens and learns from the geishas in residence.

Video

The 1.78:1 anamorphic video transfer is quite solid. The film was made a few years ago and care was taken when it was originally photographed. The colours are vivid and well balanced with good contrast and levels of detail. Reds came out particularly well and apart from minor dirt I couldn`t see any other signs of damage. Very easy on the eyes and a pleasure to watch.

Audio

Only one sound option here, Japanese DD2.0. This is one of those films where an overblown 5.1 soundtrack isn`t needed and we can easily hear all the dialogue. Even the most subtle of sounds are reproduced well, the instruments playing and the quietness of certain key scenes.

Features

Simple to navigate menus with just a few extras:

Photo Gallery - This has about a dozen black & white stills taken from the film. No production unit, cast or crew stills though.

Director`s Profile - A profile of director Kinji Fukasaku, he`s also well known for films: Battles Without Honor and Hunmanity, aka The Yakuza Papers, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Graveyard of Honor and Battle Royale. This short bio covers his early film influence and how he matured as a director with more gritty and realistic portrayals in film. It`s interesting, but too short.

English Subtitles - Easy to understand and well timed. Of course, it can`t beat understanding Japanese!

There`s no information on the cast here and IMDB sheds little light. I would have liked to know about the cast and their names and this DVD is the ideal place for more information.

Conclusion

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, better known for The Yakuza Papers and Battle Royale, you`d be forgiven for thinking this film would have guns, bloodshed and violence. This film, The Geisha House, is a more sedate offering.

It`s difficult to tell if writer Kaneto Shindô has got a message buried in here somewhere. There seems to be a blurred line between the definition of `geisha` and `prostitution` and this film reinforces this indistinct notion by retaining that the geisha is somewhat more elegant and not sex oriented. I`d agree that elegance is a factor, but I feel the blurred line is just one of price and tradition more than anything else. For example, there are geisha here engaged in `paid for` sex.

One key scene has young Tokiko returning home to see her family, all toiling away to make ends meet. Her sister has been taken out of school to help out, her elder brother has been made redundant and is a mood-swinging obnoxious alcohol swigging sad case, her father is unwell but struggles to work and this proves to be a scene with some really charged emotion. Tokiko supports her family as best she can with her job at the geisha house, but her family living hand-to-mouth is the reason why she wants to be a gesiha in the first place. There aren`t any further scenes of conscience and this is why I think she doesn`t know what she`s doing.

Tokiko is still quite young, probably about 15 or 16 and has left her schooling behind. She shows her innocence in some ways while fully understanding the implications of what she wants to become. Innocence, because we`re quite sure she`s naiive in the ways of sex - she has no relationship with boys - yet she knows about the Anti-prostitution Act coming into force and gives the heads up to girls on the job when the police are on the scene. She bumps into former school friends too, all dressed in their uniforms, who ask after her and what she will do as a maiko (young geisha), but she seems uncomfortable here and fortunately for her a street distraction manages to free her from any further embarrassment. She does finally attain her goal and we see the transition to maiko with ceremony. There is less dialogue here with more visual art playing a part in relaying her defining moment.

I can`t help but feel there was something missing from the film after watching it. I would have thought that something as big a deal as progressing to being a maiko and beyond would merit a bit more narrative. Having said that, I`m a westerner watching it with a skewed western perspective on what others might perceive as Japanese tradition. So this light feel to the film might be normal for those that are more familiar with how the proceedings go.

For all the mystique that surrounds geisha, The Geisha House showed a completely different side. Behind closed doors, they`re as scruffy as we might be, they argue and cat call and aren`t at all dignified! They`re quite ordinary really.

Despite some of the niggles that I had while watching it, I did enjoy watching the film and had a few laughs along the way. The casting and acting are good and it added up to an enjoyable 110 minutes. It`s light and entertaining. Not a DVD to buy though unless you`re a collector of Kinji Fukasaku`s work. If you can stand the subtitles and want to see something different, it`s worth seeing so give it a rent.