Memoirs of a Geisha inflames Chinese-Japanese Relations

It looks like the release of “Memoirs of a Geisha”, has caused much tension betwen Japan and China. This is the first big-budget movie ever released with Asian actors in every leading role. The film stars Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li, and Chinese-Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh. The notable Japanese actor is Ken Watanabe from “The Last Samurai”. Zhang Ziyi has been outcasted by her own country for starring as a Japanese Geisha. For months now, the community in both Japan and China have felt that the leading role should have been given to someone of Japanese decent.

“Some Japanese actresses didn’t even want to audition, because they couldn’t speak English and were too afraid to try to take it on,” claimed Producer Lucy Fisher. The audition from Zhang Ziyi showed that she fitted the role perfectly. This argument is rather silly considering that actors play different characters and portray different nationalities since the history of film.

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