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Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha

Drama · Romance · History · 2005

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Movie details

Memoirs of a Geisha

“A story like mine has never been told.”

2005 Drama · Romance · History 2h 26m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.3 / 10

171.6K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

35 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

54 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.6 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Memoirs of a Geisha?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rob Marshall

Written by

Robin Swicord

Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi

Sayuri

Gong Li

Gong Li

Hatsumomo

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh

Mameha

Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe

Le président

Suzuka Ohgo

Suzuka Ohgo

Chiyo

Kaori Momoi

Kaori Momoi

La mère

Koji Yakusho

Koji Yakusho

Nobu

Court is in session

Put Memoirs of a Geisha on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.