Living in Japan and watching the trailer for this film is something of a unique experience. There's a momentary silence as the film's title "Sayuri" comes up, and as the trailer rolls and the names of the actresses comes up, there's a momentary whisper as people shift in their seats.

I asked my Japanese friend if she wanted to see it, as historical romances are usually right up her alley and she shook her head. "Why should I want to see a movie about Japanese culture starring an entire cast of Chinese women?"

She did have a point.

I found the review of this film to be a bit irritating in its praise for its 'Asianness'. It's a story about Japan written by a Westerner, filmed by a Western director, produced by Steven Spielburg, starring a potluck of 'Asian' stars very few of whom are actually Japanese. It's as authentic as food court teriyaki and it's certainly not fair to compare it to films actually made in Asia by Asian filmmakers, such as the mentioned '2046' or 'Hero' or 'House of Flying Daggers'.

Can someone please explain the strange ads and new book cover showing a Chinese woman with startling bright blue eyes? Did it somehow escape my attention that eye color changing contact lenses were widely used in Pre-WWII Japan?

It's certainly an arresting image but I find it hugely off-putting about two seconds after it catches my attention.

I went through three, I think, copies of the book since I lent mine out out and they never came back so I can't skim through the book but I don't recall the lead character being referred to at any point as physically beautiful.

That was entirely beyond the point in the creation of a wholly artificial cultural symbol. The conventions of the makeup and elaborate hairstyles strip much of the individuality from a geisha's appearance and surely that's part of the tradition. So much more emphasis was placed on other skills and attributes, mastery of music, grace of movement and conversation. And of course, the fabulous, restrictive and astonishingly costly kimonos.

I can not presently muster much enthusiasm for seeing this adaptation, though I may end up doing so for the simple reason that virtually everything else in the theaters is purest and unalloyed tripe.

JolieBlanc's comments are mostly dead on, but the way I read Ms. Zacharek's review, her mentions of "Asia and "Asianness" are not meant to be praise, they are meant to be ironic- in reference to how Rob Marshall apparently cannot differentiate between China and Japan, or the film cultures of either country.

"If you find "Memoirs of a Geisha" wearying, as I did, you may find yourself accused of being irredeemably Western...."

To the contrary, I believe the only audience who can thoroughly enjoy this pretentious film are indiscriminate Asiaphiles. Any culturally-sensitive Asian would cringe to see Ziyi's unmistakably Chinese face painted up in geisha makeup.

"Geisha" perpetuates America's gross generalizations of Asian cultures (such as the myth of a uniform "Asian accent" - Ziyi's is decidedly Chinese*). That all three major characters are played by non-Japanese Asian actors clearly illustrates that Rob Marshall can't register the difference between "Japanese" and "Asian". Chinese-Malaysian-Japanese, they're all interchangeable in the narrow mind of a so-called Westerner.

Ms.Zacharek may want to check out "Hero" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" again if she believes slowness="Asianness". Chinese films are famous for being sweepingly dynamic epics.

*Even this is a generalization since there are so many dialects spoken throughout the culturally diverse country. I can only assume that it's Mandarin since the actress's from Beijing.

I understand Ms. Zacharek's point about Western ignorance of Asian actors--they're all interchangeable and a Chinese or Maylaisian can easily fill a Japanese role without most Americans knowing or even caring.

I have occasionally found this wearying myself as I watch a Jewish character depicted in a film, play or TV show by a (presumably) Christian actor without any of the nuance, understanding or cultural history a Jewish actor might bring to the part (Meryl Streep in Prime, Rosie O'Donnell in Fiddler On The Roof). And with all of the cliche intonations and hand movements we can all possibly bear.

Do Italians mind Estelle Getty (a Jewish actress) playing Sophia Petrillo, or James Caan playing Sonny Corleone?

The list could go on and on. And it's not about the abilities of the individual actors. It's about who producers consider palatable to the supposedly ignorant, passive greatest common denominator of the American audiences.

So we should consider ourselves lucky that Geisha stars three Asian actresses and not, Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and maybe Jessica Simpson as the lead. Surely, the tragedy of going brunette and slanting her eyes would have earned Miss Simpson her first Oscar nomination.

I would've prefered Jessica Simpson to Zhang Ziyi. At least then more moviegoers will know not to take the film's accuracy for granted. It's like Chinese waiters serving up bits of Americanized sushi - people'll assume they're getting the "real deal" because the waiters happen to have slanted eyes.

cynshep, I find the eye color thing distracting and disturbing, too. It's been awhile since I read the book (didn't really like it) but if I recall correctly, the most striking thing about Sayuri's appearance was her light-colored eyes.

I am sure the actors involved in this movie, in any movie, would like to be judged for their acting ability, not their citizenship or ancestry. The fact that Japanese characters are played by Chinese people is not really that valid a critique of 'a movie'. This is theater, this is acting, and this is drama.

In the history of Hollywood, how many American stars have gotten away with pretty pathetic English accents. The fact is, these Chinese actors have a degree of talent that merits their use in (I'll say it) "Asian" based movies, I don't really see their casting in these particular roles as so atrocious.

I'm sensitive to the 'rivalry' between China and Japan. I also think that culture is important. I just guess I am saying that Hollywood and ‘theater in general’ have always blurred the lines of 'Authentic' vs. 'Imagination'.

I suppose for some, a bad English accent can ruin the immersion of a good movie about England. And I am sure that an obvious Mandarin accent in a Japanese film would also detract from the immersion for those that can tell the difference... But, a Western film doesn’t need to worry about that as much as, say, a Japanese or Chinese film should.

From what some people have been writing - it’s almost like people are saying ‘How dare a Westerner try and make an Authentic movie on Geishas and not film it in Japan and fill it with the Japanese !!’... Um, it’s Hollywood people... Oh, the drama.