Essentially this is My Fair Lady transposed to Kyoto. The music is decent, the costuming is excellent, and Mone Kamishiraishi puts in a really great performance. While the English subtitles do try and capture the difference in Japanese dialects, it was a bit difficult for me to hear and appreciate the accent work in this film. The biggest problem I had with the film was just how much more unlikable Kyono (the Higgins character) was because Saigo is a child. I was pretty much right with the film until its last line which disappointingly soured the whole thing for me. Masayuki Suo is clearly a talented director (anyone's who seen Shall We Dance? can attest to that fact) but overall this lavish production just falls a little flat. Maiko wa Lady the theme song for the film has been stuck in my head for the last few days though.
4 Reviews
Adaptation
tedg18 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The story itself is about adapting from a not ideal Japanese state to the purest state, a Geisha. In Japan, the rural north is considered to consist of country bumpkins, something like in the US we associate with the South. A Geisha's training includes many arts but primarily speaking, and doing so in the pure, accent-free native Kyoto dialect.
A girl raised by her grandparents speaks the northern dialect and is otherwise ungraceful. She wants to enter training in a Kyoto teahouse as a Maiko, an apprentice Geisha. (She later learns she is the daughter of a favored Geisha.)
While the story is about merging the natural talent, grace and beauty of this girl into the perfect Japanese ideal, the form of the story is anything but. Excepting perhaps Denmark, Japan has the most distinct cinematic traditions and when a film deviates from these or borrows from elsewhere it is remarkable. 'Tampopo' was intriguing because of how it adopted French adaptations of US gangster films.
This tries a similar but more radical experiment. I cannot say how it plays in Japan, but boy it sure did not work for me.
The story is roughly "My Fair Lady" both in form — it is a musical — and in the way this girl is sponsored and trained by a linguistic professor for his own ends. The musical form, however, is not from the Broadway tradition but from Bollywood, including an end dance sequence with all the players dancing in concert together with standard Bollywood sequined costumes and many characters from diverse films, like Snow White.
It its a bold experiment. I saw it on an transcontinental Delta flight, often a dumping ground for failed but quirky international films. I'd be really interested in how was received natively, but from here all the seams are unsewn.
Some interesting elements.
A girl raised by her grandparents speaks the northern dialect and is otherwise ungraceful. She wants to enter training in a Kyoto teahouse as a Maiko, an apprentice Geisha. (She later learns she is the daughter of a favored Geisha.)
While the story is about merging the natural talent, grace and beauty of this girl into the perfect Japanese ideal, the form of the story is anything but. Excepting perhaps Denmark, Japan has the most distinct cinematic traditions and when a film deviates from these or borrows from elsewhere it is remarkable. 'Tampopo' was intriguing because of how it adopted French adaptations of US gangster films.
This tries a similar but more radical experiment. I cannot say how it plays in Japan, but boy it sure did not work for me.
The story is roughly "My Fair Lady" both in form — it is a musical — and in the way this girl is sponsored and trained by a linguistic professor for his own ends. The musical form, however, is not from the Broadway tradition but from Bollywood, including an end dance sequence with all the players dancing in concert together with standard Bollywood sequined costumes and many characters from diverse films, like Snow White.
It its a bold experiment. I saw it on an transcontinental Delta flight, often a dumping ground for failed but quirky international films. I'd be really interested in how was received natively, but from here all the seams are unsewn.
Some interesting elements.
Delightful and colourful froth
sharptongue17 December 2014
Dopey and clumsy bumpkin comes to big city, seeking to become the very essence of Japanese grace. Dogged determination in the face of stern opposition, derision and incompetence, yet with good-hearted support from unexpected quarters. Add the sumptuous lush colour of geisha, lovely settings ... and take every opportunity to burst into song ! The lead actress strikes just the right note of naïve sincerity, and the experienced supporting cast carry proceedings along with conviction, showing all the right touches of sorrow and joy.
Somewhat silly, as any good musical tends to be, Lady Maiko is moving and joyful, with a ripper of a closing number. Highly recommended.
Somewhat silly, as any good musical tends to be, Lady Maiko is moving and joyful, with a ripper of a closing number. Highly recommended.
A story filled with the colourful melody
ClariSays29 November 2020
A thousand thanks. I beseech your pardon. The pleasure will be mine.
These are three sentences you'll always hear (or, maybe read is the correct word) the characters say in the film Lady Miko. Honestly, I like it because it's beautiful to hear like a piece of music. Their language and most importantly the story filled with the colourful melody made Lady Miko, a 2014 musical comedy one of my favourites in the first JFF Plus: Online Festival.
I am aware that musicals are not everyone's cup of tea, and that is okay. Maybe they need to find the right story to appreciate it fully. In Lady Maiko's case, I 100% enjoyed it.
From the beginning and especially from the moment our main character Haruko Saigo played by Kamishiraishi Mone sang, I knew I had to finish the movie. While doing so, I also couldn't help but admire everything presented on the screen.
Everywhere I look, I see beauty. When someone delivers a line, the language draws me in. Read the next lines.
"A maiko's very essence is defined by her language. The Kyoto dialect is like the whispering of a gentle breeze. It always makes me happy."
If I remember this correctly, Kyouno Houshi played by Hasegawa Hiroki said these. You may know him from Shin Godzilla and Attack on Titan (film).
Their language is indeed music to my ears. So when they sing, all I hear are affectionate melodies. Which reminds me, is there a playlist on Spotify or somewhere? I badly want to listen to all the songs again while I work. If you get the chance to see this film in the next edition of the JFF Plus: Online Festival, do not dare miss it!
These are three sentences you'll always hear (or, maybe read is the correct word) the characters say in the film Lady Miko. Honestly, I like it because it's beautiful to hear like a piece of music. Their language and most importantly the story filled with the colourful melody made Lady Miko, a 2014 musical comedy one of my favourites in the first JFF Plus: Online Festival.
I am aware that musicals are not everyone's cup of tea, and that is okay. Maybe they need to find the right story to appreciate it fully. In Lady Maiko's case, I 100% enjoyed it.
From the beginning and especially from the moment our main character Haruko Saigo played by Kamishiraishi Mone sang, I knew I had to finish the movie. While doing so, I also couldn't help but admire everything presented on the screen.
Everywhere I look, I see beauty. When someone delivers a line, the language draws me in. Read the next lines.
"A maiko's very essence is defined by her language. The Kyoto dialect is like the whispering of a gentle breeze. It always makes me happy."
If I remember this correctly, Kyouno Houshi played by Hasegawa Hiroki said these. You may know him from Shin Godzilla and Attack on Titan (film).
Their language is indeed music to my ears. So when they sing, all I hear are affectionate melodies. Which reminds me, is there a playlist on Spotify or somewhere? I badly want to listen to all the songs again while I work. If you get the chance to see this film in the next edition of the JFF Plus: Online Festival, do not dare miss it!
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