Film: Memoirs of a Geisha

First let me say that this is not the sort of film I would normally pay to go and see at the cinema, however a free ticket to a preview screening last night, courtesy of the Daily Telegraph, meant I didn't have to. I expected it to be the usual epic tale of love and loss, as most Hollywood movies based on best-selling novels usually are, and it didn't disappoint on that score. It was long (2 and a half hours, actually 2 hours and 20 minutes if you don't sit through the credits). There was loss (a young girl is separated from her parents and sister) and there was love. The love was my main problem with the premise of the movie. I do not see how a 9 year old girl can fall in love with a 40-odd year old man, who curiously does not age as she does throughout the film. Was it just because he was kind to her? I don't know. I didn't relate and that was a major problem for me along with the misogynistic idea of geishas. There is something seriously wrong when young girls are trained in the arts from a young age with the end result being that their virginity is sold to the highest bidder, to pay off their training debts when they make their debut as a geisha. Then what? The film didn't really go any further in explaining exactly what is the point of being a geisha. Some of the plot details were glossed over, and are no doubt fully explained in the book. Her so-called friend 'Pumpkin' (my ex-gf saw it dubbed in Italian and asked me if that was her name because it was funny, I couldn't agree more) bringing her true love to see her in flagrante with an American soldier was out of the blue and poorly explained. Almost as if it had to be included but not explained properly. Why did she sleep with the soldier anyway?

At the beginning the fishermen were speaking Japanese and there were no subtitles, then for the rest of the movie everyone spoke in English. Make up your mind, either do one or the other, there's no point switching between because it simply draws attention to the fact that we're in Japan and people are speaking English. In short I didn't enjoy the film. The performances and cinematography were good but that's about it.

The evening wasn't a total waste of time though, at least I've seen one of the possible Oscar contenders for this year (with another to follow tomorrow, Brokeback Mountain). Well I assume so, as it's been nominated for 2 Golden Globes. But even better was the fact that I got to see the trailer for Imagine Me and You on the big screen for the first time. Previously I'd only seen the US trailer online, which is slightly different.

Music: Sarah Fimm - Nexus

I am hooked on Sarah Fimm's album 'Nexus'. I have barely played anything else since I received it from CD Baby 3 weeks ago. In fact it's almost a chore to wrench myself away from it and attempt to listen to something else. Even when I do, invariably I'm playing it again soon.

'Nexus' wakes me up in the morning, courtesy of my CD alarm clock, I then listen to it in the car on my way to and from work. It's on my MP3 player, which I listen to at lunchtime and then hook up to my mini hi-fi system in the kitchen when I get home and cook dinner. It's also on my mobile phone (Nokia N70) and my PC at home. I can and do listen to it wherever I am. I have to!

When I couldn't listen to it often for a couple of days over Christmas, due to the festivities intervening, I got withdrawal symptoms unless I had a 'Nexus' fix at least once a day. Like a good auntie I bought my 5 year old nephew a CD player for Christmas with a CD of his favourite songs from CBeebies. He's a bit too young to appreciate Sarah, but give him time! When the CBeebies 'music' got too much for me (anyone who's heard the 'Bob the Builder' or 'Bill & Ben' songs will know what I mean), I disappeared with my MP3 player and listened to 'Nexus' to regain my calm.

Last weekend 'Nexus' eased the chore of queueing for cinema tickets for 10 minutes. Even when I'm not listening to it, for example when I'm working, I'm singing it in my head. I can't help it. I'd say, 'Help, I think I'm obsessed' but I know I am and I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Just as a note of interest; the last album that had such an effect on me was Evanescence's 'Fallen'.