The Geisha House

Set in the late 1950s when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades it tells the story of Omocha Miyamoto Maki a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her povertystricken family from their handtomouth existence Through her eyes we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house Fukasakus film is a work of great delicacy with moments of hypnotic beauty and his tender direction often touched with a sense of wonder fills the screen with lovingly constructed scenes At its heart is the poignant situation of the women who must sacrifice their normal relationships to live an ambiguous life in which they are a key part of society while being kept for the most part on its periphery like perpetual mistresses