Memoirs of a Geisha--not

    In e-mail yesterday a Tokyo friend asked my comments on the film Memoirs of a Geisha.  She had felt uncomfortable throughout viewing it.  So last night I plopped myself in a padded seat and I watched beautiful shots of the ocean or gorgeous women in silk,. I asked myself, "How would Maki be seeing this?" 
    In the opening scenes a fisherman father sells his two young daughters.  Though all three sob as the two children are carted away from hut and parents, the father's action appears cruel and unwarranted.  The typical film-goer can't understand what could possibly be his motivation. (From reading the book I know he has to pay the doctor's bills for the ongoing sickness of his wife.)
    Both girls are taken to the entertainment district and forced apart for placement in different houses.  All the women they meet are cruel and greedy. The protagonist, Chiyo, finds one friend in "Pumpkin," a fellow servant (slave?) in this geisha house.  But in later years Pumpkin betrays Chiyo in an exceptionally cruel way, exacting vengeance,  although Pumpkin has recently accepted Chiyo's apologies and assured her of affection.  Chiyo despairs of all love and trust.  In this depiction of a geisha world, illusion prevails.  Virtually no one can be trusted (ignoring the sudden twist, "deus ex-machina" at the end) To obtain their own gain, people ignore the individual's needs and feelings, and tromp on each other.  Is that how it really was?  I don't know.
    I do know I would not like to have American past depicted in this way to a country that knew little about us and that time.  Reviews have said that Hollywood  compromised the book, Memoirs of a Geisha, written by A. Golden.  The movie is not a genuine depiction of a geisha.  Perhaps to produce a high selling movie that doesn't not feed into American prejudices and misunderstandings of Japan is impossible.