Memoirs Of A Geisha

Dan and I had a quiet Saturday and did something we used to do all the time in NZ - went to the movies. We saw Memoirs of a Geisha, which is titled "Sayuri" in Japan. I had just read the book and really enjoyed it. The movie was so beautiful - priceless silk kimono, the wooden houses of Kyoto, the lanterns, the fans and the dancing. It helped to rekindle my passion for Japanese things which has been a bit lacking lately, being the middle of winter and having just read "Dogs & Demons"! The movie is all in English as the cast is not all Japanese - many are Chinese.

It cost us 1,700 yen each to go. That is NZ$21.23 (and the dollar is till ridiculously high on top of that).
So on the opening night of "Sayuri", Hagi's Twin Cinema hosted a total of 4 people in the theatre including us. Bloody pathetic. It seems as if the owner doesn't want to make any money out of the place? Cut the price down to at least 1,000 yen, install a popcorn machine, tidy the place up and get the punters in. It isn't rocket science.

The adverts before the movie started included an ad by the film industry in Japan who are running a "Save Our Movies" campaign. Well, duh. Not having an audience is half the problem! It makes me so mad to see when there are dozens of pachinko slot machine gambling monstrosities dotted around every town and city in Japan. I will write a begging letter to Hoyts immediately.

For a really good article about the movie, go to http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501051121/story.html