‘Geisha’ under fire for casting choices

But the symbolism in “Geisha,” set for limited release Friday, is powerful for many Chinese.

During Japan’s 1937-38 occupation of Nanjing, Japanese troops killed at least 150,000 Chinese civilians and raped tens of thousands of women.

Today, there is tension over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s repeated visits to a shrine that honors some convicted war criminals, as well as the territorial dispute over the Diaoyutai or Senkaku islands. In April, Chinese demonstrators vandalized shops and smashed windows at Japanese diplomatic offices while protesting Japanese textbooks they claim whitewash the country’s war atrocities.

Just the sight of kimono-clad Chinese actresses could make tempers flare: Chinese actress-singer Zhao Wei is widely reported to have been smeared with human feces after donning a shirt bearing the Japanese military flag.

“(Zhang) went out of her way to portray an outlet for Japanese desires. This is a loss of face for the Chinese,” said one posting on the Chinese Web portal Netease.com. “The Chinese were comfort women during World War II, and they continue to serve Japanese in modern times.”

Such history has created an Asian climate so sensitive, South Korean actress Kim Yun-jin, best known to Western audiences for her role on TV’s “Lost,” reportedly turned down a role in “Geisha” for nationalistic reasons.

But the American filmmakers had other concerns, like star power and ticket sales.

Well-known names
Zhang, Yeoh and Gong are somewhat familiar to American audiences. Zhang and Yeoh co-starred in the box-office hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and Zhang has since become the international face of Chinese cinema with roles in “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers” and “2046.” Yeoh became the first Asian Bond girl in “Tomorrow Never Dies.” And Gong gained a devoted cult following thanks to her work in “Raise the Red Lantern” and “Farewell My Concubine.”

“Obviously, when you make a bigger-budget movie, the more well-known the faces are, the happier the financiers are,” Fisher said.

But does casting for charisma’s sake mean authenticity is sacrificed? Marshall is quick to point out that while he did extensive research into geisha culture, realism was not his chief concern.

“I never intended to do this movie as a documentary-style version of the novel,” Marshall said. “It really is a fable.”

Some who saw the movie at its Tokyo premiere thought Marshall strayed too far from reality.

“I felt like I was watching a movie set in China, rather than Japan,” office worker Yumiko Kamiyama told The AP. “I am big Zhang Ziyi fan, which is why I wanted to see this. But I will not be recommending it to my friends.”

Still, anticipation for the movie remains high in Japan, and it has been cleared by Chinese censors. (China’s Film Bureau did not respond to questions from The AP.)

“Most of the Japanese audience who attended the premiere of this film had positive reactions,” Jay Sakomoto, president of Shochiku Co., Japan’s largest movie distributor in Japan, said in a statement. “Ziyi Zhang’s portrayal of Sayuri was impeccable, and many people thought she seemed more Japanese than a real Japanese woman.”

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