Here's a live performance of the song.

It is still said that geisha inhabit a separate reality which they call the karyukai or “the flower and willow world.” Before they disappeared the courtesans were the colorful “flowers” and the geisha the “willows” because of their subtlety, strength, and grace.

In this story, we follow a young Japanese woman in NYC, a victim of her own nature. She has a deep hole in her soul, brought on by childhood abuses, that she fills with her own abuse of alcohol, pills and sex. In order to escape this hard reality, she submerges herself into a fantasy world where she is a beautiful geisha. The tsunami is a representation of the assault of the world in her heart - an unbearable force that she can not escape. She is a flower dreaming of being a willow.

Tonight is the last night of her life.

When Stephane composes, he sees his music as a film soundtrack. His music is very visual and compliments visuals perfectly. In effect, this music video can be treated like a short film. It should be emotional and engaging, full of both subtle and straightforward visual metaphors. We want the audience to feel like someone is ripping open their chest and tearing their heart out.

Story

We are in a dark, penthouse hotel bedroom with large windows that overlook downtown Manhattan at night. A beautiful Japanese woman is lying in an uncomfortable position on the bed. She is half naked and there are remnants of drugs on the nightstand along with a vase of flowers. In fact, we see there are flowers all over the penthouse suite. The woman’s eyes are half open and she lies limpless, unable to move. A man in the shadows sits in a chair facing her. His face, in shadow, is still and void of emotion.

He is startled by a cel phone that buzzes on a table next to him, and from the light on it’s screen we see his face for the first time. He is a friendly looking young fellow in a shirt and tie, perhaps an investment banker or a business attorney. He grabs the phone without answering it along with some cash from the table and heads for the door. Light spills into the room as he opens the door to the hallway. Closing it behind him, we immediately see the door swing open again within the same shot. The same man fumbles in with the same beautiful woman who was on the bed. She throws herself at him with a lustful passion. Continuing clumsily through the dark room, he paws back at her and begins to lift up her dress. Stopping him for a moment, she reaches into her clutch and removes a small bag of white pills. She kisses his cheek and gives him a big smile before going to the other side of the room to take one.

Turning his back to her, he removes his coat. He removes his phone and wallet, and drops a small wad of cash on a side table before pouring two glasses of brandy and kicks one back. The woman is now lying on the bed as he approaches her with the second brandy. Her eyes are closed and she has passed out. He shoots down the second brandy and tosses the glass to the side as he climbs onto the bed and straddles her. He moves her head around curiously and gives her a slap.

Looking at the woman’s face being slapped, we instantly match cut to the same woman in a different room. She sits on the floor of what appears to be an abandoned building. Tree roots and branches break through the wooden floorboards and through the ceiling. With grace and focus, she splashes some water on her face, cleansing and bringing her to life. Once dry, she begins to paint her face white. She is slowly transforming herself into a beautiful geisha.

Back in the penthouse, the man kisses her roughly on the mouth while his hands move all around her body. She still doesn’t move.

The Geisha places some bright ruby lipstick on with delicate precision.

The man in the room starts tearing at the woman’s clothing. As we see him tear her shirt, the Geisha places her robe over her shoulder. The man tears at her skirt while the Geisha ties a delicate silk belt around her Kimono. The man quickly removes his belt and dives on her for one more kiss.

At 2:35, the song picks up. Immediately, the woman’s eyes jet open and look around confused. She is still unable to move her body, but she is fully aware of what is happening. Seeing that her eyes are open, he flips the woman on her stomach, pulls his pants halfway down, and takes her. In her eyes, we clearly see the pain and fear inside of her.

We intercut this sequence with the Geisha dancing with two beautiful, delicate paper fans.

After the dance is over, the Geisha seems to be sweating blood. We see the woman lying on the bed just as we did at the very beginning, with the man sitting accross the room. His phone rings and he leaves. The woman on the bed is finally able to move. Still heavy under the influence of the drugs, she slowly gets up and stumbles across the room. At the same time we see her feet walking on the floor, we see the Geisha’s feet climbing some stairs. The woman stumbles into the bathroom.

The Geisha is standing on top of a large Manhattan skyscraper in a beautiful kimono billowing in the wind and rain. The kimono drops to the floor and she stands, fully nude, facing the city. From behind, we see her facing a giant tidal wave racing toward her. Buildings explode from the water’s impact. She stands naked before the tsunami, covered in white makeup with bright, ruby red lips. The rain water hits her face while tears stream down her cheeks.

The woman in the bathroom fills the bathtub with water and slowly steps inside.

The tsunami comes closer to the Geisha as she stands still, afraid but courageously facing the devastating wall of ocean about to reach her. The woman in the bath lies underwater when, suddenly, a woman’s hand reaches down to her neck and holds her underwater. She screams underwater as the air leaves her lungs.

At 3:37, the song calms back down. As the tsunami finally hits the Geisha, we see that the woman in the bathtub has drowned under the water. The bathroom door opens and the Geisha walks out in all of her magnificent glory. It is the Geisha who had drowned her alter ego.