Watched Sakuran last night, an adaptation of a manga of the same name, which was very enjoyable. If required to give a glib description I would say it's a mix of Memoirs of a Geisha and Marie Antoinette, but the end result is better than that sounds. The story is of a young girl sold into a brothel, who though a bit of a rebel, ends up becoming the Oiran - a high ranking prostitute with near celebrity status. While set in feudal Japan, the film has a contemporary feel to it due to the soundtrack and visual style.
Looks like the whole thing is on youtube here:
Incidentally, the director, Mika Ninagawa, is a photographer, and well known in Japan for doing pop videos for the J-Pop group AKB 48. The film definitely has a bit of a stylish pop video vibe to it.
Ninagawa had a film called Helter Skelter at the London film festival last year. Also nicely shot, although the story line, concerning a Japanese celebrity idol's fall from grace, was slightly too confusing and drawn out for me.