Memoirs of a Geisha

I just watched a short preview of this movie at Yahoo's video search site. Already, I'm quite disappointed with the portrayal of Japanese people. Of course, the actors are speaking in English - that's understandable. But where is the formality, the politeness, the body language. I watched a stranger speaking to a young girl. There was not a hint of bowing, no polite Excuse mes or Thank yous. It was like I was watching a young Canadian girl (wearing a kimono) speaking to a Canadian man.

This short scene was out of context, so perhaps these two characters were raised in the West and then brought to Japan. Perhaps this is why they lack any trace of Japanese-ness? Unlikely. Or, maybe Hollywood, in typical fashion, decided to sanitize, and westernize, and remold, and cut a story about a wonderfully different culture to the lowest common denominator, so that it wouldn't be obscured (but more appropriately, embellished) by "strange" cultural references.

I suppose I should hold further judgement until I see the whole film.