A Música de Gion

This is the story of a woman who becomes a Geisha. She is never given any choice and she becomes a virtual slave to the system. In essence, its as if the was sold to the owner of the stable of Geishas. Then, after all her training and money spent making her the perfect host and performer, her "owner" expects the girl to pay her back by sleeping with her clients--whether or not she finds them repellent or not. The girl objects and is abused and threatened until she complies. A TOUGH movie to watch, indeed.

This movie is diametrically opposed to the documentaries I have seen about the lives of Geishas. They portray the women as entertainers and say they do NOT sleep with the clients--unless, of course, one agrees to do this on her own. This may be true now, but I know that this was not always the case--particularly with women the Japanese kidnapped from Korea and other parts to be "comfort women"--less "Geishas" with all their training but more glorified prostitutes.

A very unusual and interesting film that will also tug at your heartstrings for this poor girl.