Actor defends quality of ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’
By Mark Niesse
Associated Press
Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played the Baron in "Memoirs of a Geisha," said critics were off base when they accused the film of lacking authenticity.
"What did they expect? It wasn't a documentary," Tagawa said last week in an interview. "Unless the Japanese did the movie, it's all interpretation."
Tagawa defended the movie after speaking at Damien Memorial School during an awards ceremony for the 530 seventh- through 12th-graders.
Tagawa, whose character's sexual advances are rejected by a celebrated geisha, said it is unrealistic to expect a fictional work, written and directed by Americans, to fully reflect Japanese style and sensitivities.
"It's all make-believe. If belief was suspended enough to create a moment of beauty and grace, then we've succeeded," he said.
The English-language film has been criticized over the accuracy of the costumes and dancing in the film. Some writers said a movie about Japanese culture should have had a Japanese actress in the lead role, which was instead played by Chinese actress Ziyi Zhang.
"I personally had questions about her myself at first," Tagawa said, "but we're about having the most talented actors doing the job."
"Memoirs of a Geisha" chronicles a girl's rise from poverty in a Japanese fishing village to life in high society as a geisha -- a woman schooled in the art of dance, singing and conversation to be a companion for wealthy men.
Tagawa, 55, has played supporting roles in more than 50 movies, including "Pearl Harbor," "Planet of the Apes" and "Mortal Kombat." He lives on the island of Kauai.
In his talk at the student assembly, he told students that the key to success is perseverance despite failure.