The Geisha House (1999)

The Geisha House (1999)

1999-01-15 Japan 113 Min. PG-13
7.6 5 votes

Overview

Set in the late 1950s, when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades, it tells the story of Omocha (Miyamoto Maki), a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her poverty-stricken family from their hand-to-mouth existence. Through her eyes, we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house. Fukasaku's film is a work of great delicacy with moments of hypnotic beauty, and his tender direction, often touched with a sense of wonder, fills the screen with lovingly constructed scenes. At its heart is the poignant situation of the women who must sacrifice their normal relationships to live an ambiguous life in which they are a key part of society while being kept, for the most part, on its periphery, like perpetual mistresses.

Cast

Maki Miyamoto is Tokiko aka Omocha
Tokiko aka Omocha
Mai Kitajima is Somemaru
Somemaru
津川雅彦 is Yoshikawa
Yoshikawa
南果歩 is Terucho
Terucho
岡田茉莉子 is Hanaman's owner
Hanaman's owner
加藤武 is Kitayama
Kitayama
三谷昇 is Mikami
Mikami
六平直政 is Kayama
笹野高史 is Kosaka
福本清三 is Police detective
Police detective