Sakuran Movie

PERHAPS the Japanese just finally decided they could not allow one more Hollywood take on geisha life to go unanswered. Whether it was a reaction to the casting of Chinese actresses as Japanese geishas or the Westernized romance of its story line, American director Rob Marshall's big-budget "Memoirs of a Geisha" was a memorable disappointment in Japan. A Japanese riposte comes with "Sakuran," the first film from Mika Ninagawa, who is already well known here for her photography.