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.