The Geisha

Making its U.S. debut on DVD, director Hideo Gosha's The Geisha may be unknown to most American viewers, but the film carries a rich pedigree—winning nine Japanese Academy Awards in 1984, including Best Picture. Set in the 1930s, The Geisha finds 12-year-old Momowaka being sold to the fabled Yokiro geisha house, where her coming of age is marked during a tricky navigation between the prickly personalities within the house and the intrusions of combative outside forces, most notably the yakuza. Momowaka undergoes numerous emotional hardships, ranging from unexpected pregnancy to a bout with tuberculosis to a seriously troubled relationship with her erratic father (Ken Ogata). Much of The Geisha is, admittedly, over-the-top in regard to its melodramatic plotlines, but Gosha's direction is vigorous and stylish, the elaborate production values are visually impeccable, and Kimiko Ikegami—who stars as the adult Momowaka—offers a strong central performance that anchors the film even when the convoluted plots threaten to derail the drama. Aficionados of Japanese cinema, not to mention fans of the similarly-themed Memoirs of a Geisha, should find this entertaining. Recommended. (P. Hall)