Forget about <Memoirs of a Geisha> or other Hollywood movies about “another movie about mysterious Japan uncovered for you by Steven Xberg. With the leading Japanese character played by yet-another-Asian” or something along that line.
The movie I’m recommending is wacky. I laughed during the first 30 seconds of the film. The first five seconds was a lady playing a samisen (like in <Sakuran>) and I thought it would start as a semi-serious movie, but then we see a bunch of people’s feet running left and right, up and down in small lanes. The camera then shows that they have cameras hanging off their necks. One of them screams, “Maiko haaaaan!!!!” And we see two powdered Maikos and the cameras starts flashing and the maikos pose. It’s a movie about a man who is obsessed with maiko and geisha. The obesssion started when he was on his junior high (perhaps) graduation trip to Kyoto. His wish of living in Kyoto was fulfilled when he was demoted to Kyoto. He dumped his girlfriend before leaving for Kyoto, after finding out she’s not really from Kyoto. The story’s a bit too long to write out, but this is a great 2-in-1 mix of comedy and Japanese culture. Great kimonos! The poster:
PSS: It’s JUNE!
YQtravelling 