本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Geisha and Zhang Ziyi
On the way back from work Friday evening, I heard on the radio the advertisement for Zhang Ziyi' Memoir of a Geisha, followed by an interview with a UBC professor in Japanese Literature. Seeing posts everywhere of this much debated movie, I am definitely more than interested in seeing how she'd portrait a Japanese geisha in the 1940s. The interview with the professor is as predictable as usual. First the professor expressed his disappointment and disatisfaction in the presentation of Japanese culture in the original novel, commenting on how the author failed to demonstrate geisha's moods and sentiment through the patterns and colors of their kimono, and the correlation between the four seasons and geisha's emotional activities. And then he talked about none of the 3 main Chinese actresses could fool him for a minute of being a Japanese woman, because their voices and movements lacked the subtlety and refinement of a well trained and polished Japanese woman. In a word, these Chinese women were too assertive and harsh. I couldn't help chuckling after I heard this. I believe hearing a well dressed geisha girl talking English is a huge turn-off to a lot of geisha-loving Japanese men or women, because the pronounciation and expression of the two langues are so different, that one lost the complete verbal conveyance in speaking the other language. However, a deeper reason why the Japanese may not like this movie is their inherent distrust in any foreign person's ability to understand and present their culture in a faithful and graceful way. That reminds me of watching the movie "Last Emperor" many years ago. Few people I know liked that movie either, not only because it was director by a westerner, but also because it just didn't match what we think Chinese culture should be. Subtle details in the plot and dialogues were changed to suit the taste of western audience, even though the story happened in China and all the characters were Chinese. I have to think whether all the people in the world would resent any books or movies written by or made by a foreigner who claims to be the expert of their culture.
Anyway I tend to believe Zhang is a good actress to be chosen for such a difficult role. And we shouldn't point fingers at her even if she fails to meet the expectation of everybody. As an actress I believe she has done her best to do the job, the rest is out of her control.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
On the way back from work Friday evening, I heard on the radio the advertisement for Zhang Ziyi' Memoir of a Geisha, followed by an interview with a UBC professor in Japanese Literature. Seeing posts everywhere of this much debated movie, I am definitely more than interested in seeing how she'd portrait a Japanese geisha in the 1940s. The interview with the professor is as predictable as usual. First the professor expressed his disappointment and disatisfaction in the presentation of Japanese culture in the original novel, commenting on how the author failed to demonstrate geisha's moods and sentiment through the patterns and colors of their kimono, and the correlation between the four seasons and geisha's emotional activities. And then he talked about none of the 3 main Chinese actresses could fool him for a minute of being a Japanese woman, because their voices and movements lacked the subtlety and refinement of a well trained and polished Japanese woman. In a word, these Chinese women were too assertive and harsh. I couldn't help chuckling after I heard this. I believe hearing a well dressed geisha girl talking English is a huge turn-off to a lot of geisha-loving Japanese men or women, because the pronounciation and expression of the two langues are so different, that one lost the complete verbal conveyance in speaking the other language. However, a deeper reason why the Japanese may not like this movie is their inherent distrust in any foreign person's ability to understand and present their culture in a faithful and graceful way. That reminds me of watching the movie "Last Emperor" many years ago. Few people I know liked that movie either, not only because it was director by a westerner, but also because it just didn't match what we think Chinese culture should be. Subtle details in the plot and dialogues were changed to suit the taste of western audience, even though the story happened in China and all the characters were Chinese. I have to think whether all the people in the world would resent any books or movies written by or made by a foreigner who claims to be the expert of their culture.
Anyway I tend to believe Zhang is a good actress to be chosen for such a difficult role. And we shouldn't point fingers at her even if she fails to meet the expectation of everybody. As an actress I believe she has done her best to do the job, the rest is out of her control.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net