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Chinese-Japanese Cooperation in Film

Memoirs of a Geisha, released in Japan this week as "Sayuri," is little more than a simple love story on one level. It tells of the intrigues and rivalries among the women engaged in the lonely and demanding discipline of being a professionally trained singer, dancer, and entertainer for men in Kyoto`s entertainment district. Zhang Ziyi, a famous Chinese actress, plays the lead role of a peasant girl sold into a geisha house who struggles to win her livelihood as well as the hand of the man she loves.

The decision to cast Chinese actresses in many of the main roles of the film has caused ripples on both sides of the East China Sea, coming amidst tensions over Japan`s and China`s views of Japan`s brutal conduct in World War II. But on a recent evening in Tokyo`s Ginza theater district, viewers almost unanimously praised the film. Ms. Zhang`s Japanese accent was a little off the mark, perhaps, some viewers said.

The film limits the issue of Japan`s wartime actions by only briefly mentioning Manchuria and showing limited scenes of soldiers shuttering the Gion entertainment district in Kyoto. The fact that Japanese audiences are viewing the movie as as a period-piece love story may serve as a testament to Chinese-Japanese cooperation, and contrast with the often self-flagellating attitudes of many Japanese politicians concerning any clash over the region`s war history.