I finally saw Memoirs of A Geisha on HBO two weekends ago. From the night that I first watched it until now, the substance of the story and the entire cinematography never left my mind. Most importantly, the sound of the cello never left my senses.
Now I came across this very interesting clip of how its musical score came about, of course not doubting the exceptional talent of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams. Williams is most famous for his musical rendering of E.T. (Extra Terrestrial) and Superman, to name a few. And now, he recalls, he passed on scoring for Harry Potter to give way to laying the music for the biggest film of 2005.
Rob Marshall, director of Memoirs of A Geisha, says that the music seems to speak a language that is Sayuri's. The cello is Sayuri's voice. And John Williams has meticulously conceptualized this music through the cello.
Admittedly, this has climbed up the charts of my favorite movies. I had to order the video and book written by Arthur Golden. Memoirs of A Geisha is a story of Sayuri, played by Zhang Ziyi, who was taught social and artistic skills to be able to enter a world of wealth, power and political intrigue; most of all to become Japan's most celebrated geisha. The real catch in this movie for me is Ken Watanabe, the Japanese actor from the Last Samurai fame. Watanabe plays the role of The Chairman. Sayuri desperately attempts to attain the love of The Chairman and the climax of the story is whether or not she does meet her goal.
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