I know nothing about the book or movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" other than the commercials I saw on TV, but I was a little curious when I saw the commercial, because everyone's Chinese. I dismissed it in my mind. Maybe the book's set in China or maybe this is about a Chinese girl in Japan. Who knows.
Well, of course, it's not. It's about Japanese people, in Japan, played by a cast of Chinese superstars. Now, maybe for white bread America who doesn't know Thailand from Taiwan this isn't a problem. But for me, I didn't even have to look at the screen to lose the feeling of Japan.
Their accents, so Chinese it's unmistakable. Their faces and even mannerisms from the 30 second spot, so very Chinese. It's too much. It's like watching Japanese animation dubbed into English. It has a certain lack of authenticity that is palpable. It's like a bulb that flickers in a movie theatre, never letting you forget that it's a movie.
Chinese is not Japanese, even if you dress Chinese in a kimono. Let me tell you, for the most part, it's relatively easy for Asians to tell each other apart.
Maybe I'll see the movie, but I'm not in a rush. It's hard to get excited about something that reminds you through the whole movie that it is fake.
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