Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Bill Slocum There's a lot of reason to like "The Barbarian And The Geisha," too bad so little of that shows up on screen. It's a classic case of how good intentions when married to fuzzy execution yield disappointing results.In 1856, following the opening of Japan to an American naval force, newly-appointed consul general Townsend Harris (John Wayne) shows up at the fishing community of Shimoda to ratify an agreement. He is met with resistance, much of it from a regional governor, Tamura (So Yamamura), who reminds Harris it takes two to make a treaty. Harris insists, and Tamura responds with some hospitality, including a music-making geisha named Okichi (Eiko Ando) who is sent to Harris to make him more comfortable."The governor wants to know about us, and we want to know about Japan," Harris tells his aide Henry (Sam Jaffe) in accepting the young lovely into his home.Shot on location in glorious CinemaScope, "The Barbarian And The Geisha" is the kind of movie I want to like. It takes an even-handed approach at celebrating a century of Japanese-American relations centering on the idea of being a "good neighbor." Another reviewer here criticizes Wayne for playing a "cowboy;" that's not the issue at all.In fact, a big part of the problem is Wayne's gentleness. He gets into a couple of fan-service fistfights, but for the most part speaks softly and makes his point with wisdom, not force. His problem is he's not the actor for such a role, and struggles to define a character with a lot of earnest diplomat-speak that suits him as poorly as his period trousers.Another reviewer suggests Clifton Webb would have been a better casting choice. How about Gregory Peck? He was so stiff and elegant, he would have been perfect in this. I can see him arching that eyebrow as he uttered such dry lines as: "No one stays as he was…nor any country."Director John Huston doesn't seem to know what kind of film he's making, a romance or a history, so he throws together a historical romance that sells both sides short. The Okichi relationship is set up as crucial; hers is the character we hear in the frequent narration. Alas, there is no chemistry between the leads, just nods and smiles. Ando was a newcomer in her only screen role, and she's charming enough, but what exactly is the point of Okichi in this story is as hard to tell by watching the film as it is from reading the history.Not that I found myself caring too much. The film starts and ends with a scene of grand spectacle, and pretty much that's Huston's agenda, the kind of spectacle meant as show and divorced from story. There's some drama when an American ship's arrival leads to a cholera epidemic, but just as that seems to spell the end of Harris's mission, it is revealed the Japanese appreciated his efforts in stopping the epidemic. Thus is conflict resolved, with another long pageant to celebrate same.The only thing I enjoyed about this movie was So Yamamura, who gets my 1958 Doe Avedon award for best performance in a bad film. Though his character makes no more sense than anyone else's, he plays his part with a humor and grace surprising for what amounts to the token heavy. "I have sympathy for a man alone in a strange country," he tells Harris in good English, showing he may be a stick but far from ignorant about it. Yamamura subtly signals his conflict between respecting Harris and fearing what he represents, and that tension charges every scene he's in.That charge is sorely needed, for this film is otherwise as inert as sushi. Noble intentions and a good cause are just not enough to make this worth a view.

johnson-mia In the 1850's Townsend Harris was dispatched by President Pierce to Japan to establish open trade with Japan. While there, he forms a relationship with a beautiful young geisha named Okichi. The Barbarian And The Geisha, although perhaps not completely accurate to true life of the events it depicts does give us a beautiful look into the the look and feel of Japan of the mid-1800's. Shot entirely in Japan, the scenery is stunning, and the costumes, especially those of the Geisha are truly beautiful. We are invited to watch Geisha in performance; dancing, singing, and entertaining. One scene features a large group of Geisha playing the koto, a stringed instrument central in Japanese music and culture, and the sound is transporting to the "mysterious Orient". Japanese language is heard throughout the movie, kudos to Huston there, and the characters communicate largely through a translator which also puts us more into the place of Harris' experience in Japan. This element mixed with a limited number of bilingual Japanese characters avoids the lameness of just having everyone speak English for the sake of the American Audience or having to use subtitles at all. Although you won't find yourself on the edge of your seat, or swept by the moving story or a dramatic romance with this film, it covers the subject matter with a commendable ease and the visual elements are enough within themselves to ride out the entire picture.

jeffstevens38 This film was doomed from the start,Wayne was reluctant to make it;then to make matters worse he fell out with Houston who was directing. After filming had been completed,Houston moved on to other projects,Wayne however was not satisfied and had whole scenes reshot and re edited,the finished product was a mish mash of styles with the Duke trying to play a Cowboy in Japan.

dbdumonteil There are often badly-matched couples (in the general sense of the term) -in Huston's movies :"African Queen" "Heaven knows Mister Allison" "roots of Heaven" "Misfits" ..."The Barbarian and the geisha" (check the title) is another good example,so to speak.It seems that Japanese stuff was trendy at the time as such works as "Sayonara" " the world of Suzie Wong" and "the teahouse of the August moon" bear witness. Huston's effort might be the worst of this rather bad lot(with the exception of "Susie " maybe).John Wayne perfectly fits in Ford's world ,in Huston's he's like a bull in a china shop.His Japanese partner is totally bland.Even the dramatic scenes (cholera epidemic) do not save the movie from absolute boredom.Only those utterly enamoured of Huston's every work need to choose this ,among all his other great movies around.