I can’t wait to see Memoirs of a Geisha (which opens nation-wide on Festivus).

From Xinhua:

As a little girl, Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi) was sold by her fisherman father to an okiya, where she must learn to be a special lady, a geisha, one of the “wives of nightfall” who for centuries have entertained Japanese gentlemen with delicacy, wit and a mastery of such arts as flower-arranging, calligraphy, singing and dancing.

At 15, Chiyo has these graces only in embryo; but a famous geisha, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), sees how they might flower. She begins the girl’s education sternly.

And slowly the eager student with the “watery” gray eyes grows into a captivating woman known as Nitta Sayuri. She attracts the attention of the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), a powerful man whom Sayuri has adored since she was a little girl and he showed her kindness.

Sayuri’s rise doesn’t suit Hatsumomo’s (Gong Li) ego. The reigning bitch-goddess of the okiya accurately sees Sayuri’s promise as a threat. With magnificent hatred, she spits a warning at the girl: “I will destroy you.”

Get Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel and watch the movie trailer here.

Paul Fischer interviews Gong Li here.

Check out “Bob Mondello’s Holiday Movies Preview” at NPR for more holiday movie previews.