BEIJING, Nov. 25-- It took seven years and a lot of crying, but¨Memoirs of a Geisha〃 is now a movie. Director Rob Marshall triumphs in bringing Arthur Golden's 1997 worldwide best seller lusciously to life as a sumptuous love story.

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.〃

It is the first Hollywood mega movie to boast Asian actors in all the main roles.

¨Memoirs of a Geisha〃 will be released in North America in December and some Asian countries and regions in January.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)