03-05-2022, 10:57 PM
This is likely the end of my Michelle Yeoh binge as the article is almost done. I was planning to rewatch Master Z but it's not on Netflix anymore. I had never seen this, believe it or not, so it's been a long time coming.
It didn't work for me. It is a beautiful film. Some of the scenes are magnificent. And I wasn't caught up in the Chinese actresses playing Japanese roles controversy. It's more that I've been a long time fan of Michelle (obvs), Gong Li, and Z, and this simply fails to rise to their calibre. The all seem to be phoning it in, barely learning their lines in English and perhaps not bothering to fully understand them (well, not Michelle - she's quadrilingual). Gong Li is painfully underused. She's played some chilling villainesses and she hardly even caricatures evil here. Z barely taps her dramatic range in what could've been a deeply complex character. All three miss when it comes to capturing geisha culture. Although they can each show top shelf class, they miss when it comes to that signature geisha refinement. That's a dealbreaker, like a samurai movie where no one knows how to sword fight.
I also have issues with the story. So the chairman crushes on a little girl and manipulates her into becoming a geisha from behind the scenes for years? WTH? That's messed up in a pedo grooming way. They whole arc of that love story was dumb.
Sure, it won 3 oscars including one for a former boss of Greg's if memory serves (memory doesn't serve - I searched 'geisha' and his old comment about Myhre bringing his oscar to the set emerged - come on now, I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday). Sure, it won many other film accolades. But it just feels off to me on several levels.
Not D00M recommended. But I'm glad I checked it off my list of films I really should've seen by now.
It didn't work for me. It is a beautiful film. Some of the scenes are magnificent. And I wasn't caught up in the Chinese actresses playing Japanese roles controversy. It's more that I've been a long time fan of Michelle (obvs), Gong Li, and Z, and this simply fails to rise to their calibre. The all seem to be phoning it in, barely learning their lines in English and perhaps not bothering to fully understand them (well, not Michelle - she's quadrilingual). Gong Li is painfully underused. She's played some chilling villainesses and she hardly even caricatures evil here. Z barely taps her dramatic range in what could've been a deeply complex character. All three miss when it comes to capturing geisha culture. Although they can each show top shelf class, they miss when it comes to that signature geisha refinement. That's a dealbreaker, like a samurai movie where no one knows how to sword fight.
I also have issues with the story. So the chairman crushes on a little girl and manipulates her into becoming a geisha from behind the scenes for years? WTH? That's messed up in a pedo grooming way. They whole arc of that love story was dumb.
Sure, it won 3 oscars including one for a former boss of Greg's if memory serves (memory doesn't serve - I searched 'geisha' and his old comment about Myhre bringing his oscar to the set emerged - come on now, I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday). Sure, it won many other film accolades. But it just feels off to me on several levels.
Not D00M recommended. But I'm glad I checked it off my list of films I really should've seen by now.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
