User Reviews

TALES OF A GOLDEN GEISHA (AGEMAN). Viewed on Streaming. Director Juzo Itami's (he is also credited as story writer and co-producer) story about the life and times as well as the positive/negative impacts of Lady Luck in the form of a contemporary gig geisha who professionally encounters rich/powerful/corrupt men (politicians especially, but also bankers, religious leaders, and any male in a position of authority) and develops a reputation for helping those who contract for her services move up to the one-percenter level. Lady Luck, of course, is notoriously known to be fickle, and Itami's version is basically no exception. The film stars Nobuko Miyamoto (the Director's wife) who looks stunning with and without her clothes, and, since she is in practically every scene, is able to fully display her acting talents from light comedy to light drama (and not be lost in the large cast of supporting players including Itami's stock company). Miyamoto's character provides her services gratis to her real love in the pro forma scenario of "girl meets boy, girl (repeatedly) loses boy, girl (finally) re-captures boy." (It's quite a chase!) The film is a bit too long, but never really boring (the Director tosses in a nude shot here and there to keep the viewer's attention). Fight scenes are mainly created by jump-cut editing. Interestingly, players wearing glasses never lose them in action scenes (the magic of the editing suite!). Most/all geisha look well past their prime when in scenes with Miyamoto. Contemporary geisha makeup avoids the traditional white-face ghost-mask look. (You can see the faces of actresses playing geisha roles!) Subtitles appear before dialog is delivered in some conversations. Score is a bit heavy on string-instrument orchestrations, but otherwise okay. It's really more fun to watch Nobuko Miyamoto acting instead of her usual hamming it up and eating the scenery! WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD. Details: streaming/restoration (FilmStruck) = 8 stars; cinematography (semi-wide screen, color) = 8 stars; production values = 8 stars; makeup (face/body) = 8 stars; direction = 7 stars; editing = 6 stars; score = 6 stars; subtitles = 5 stars.

This is not a comedy. A tale of political corruption interwoven with the story of a woman's search for love, which we assume is to make the politics less insufferable. And yet, the woman's story is so harrowing that it only makes it worse. She is raped by an influential political figure and then screamed at by her boyfriend. Then the very next time we see her with him she is smiling and they're going to live happily ever after? That just doesn't fly right. It's impossible to laugh after what happens on the screen.

Although there is sharp criticism of contemporary Japanese masculinity and patriarchy in this film, which one would think would make it worth viewing. But films that depict rape are automatically downgraded in my opinion because it only glorifies it and presents it as status quo for young male viewers.