Millennium Actress - Reviews

—This review contains spoilers—-

In commemoration of the studio’s 70th anniversary,  Genya and Kyoji planned on shooting a documentary starring Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko was once a timid, shy, and introverted girl. She was recruited as an actress at a very young age. Although her parents viewed acting as a very sketchy profession, Chiyoko later portrayed so many acting roles from traditional Showa girls, geisha, and even a female astronaut. 

In Millenium Actress, a valuable  key is a treasured keepsake and reminder of Chiyoko’s first undying love . Her first love was both a painter and an anti-government rebel. Chiyoko was fascinated by his poetic and artistic paintings. However, her  crush  was long pursued by the Shinsengumi and police for conflicting political values and reasons. Chiyoko even witnesses his capture. Chiyoko is so passionate and devoted to her first love. She relentlessly chases him everywhere even through the extent of outer space (as highlighted throughout the movie).Filled with jealousy towards Chiyoko, Eiko steals the key. But it was later returned to her by Genya and Kyoji. 

I find the movie settings fascinating. The audience witnessed multiple movie settings transitioning to highlight the different movie sets Chiyoko starred in.  It also briefly touched historical events wrapped in Japanese history  including a time period plagued with war, poverty, bombings, and famine.

But the most important lesson I took from the movie is to not to chase after a shadow. Sometimes chasing a love interest is fruitless, and reckless. So I learned to not abandon youth for the sake of pursuing a fruitless romance. Youth is not eternal. Youth withers and time will make us forget the painful memories of a fruitless romance. As Chiyoko ages, she cannot even recall his name, his face, and his appearance. The most important less the film teaches us is to look for mutual love. Thank you for reading this review.

*spoilers ahead*

Millennium Actress is a spellbinding film. Satoshi Kon’s second cinematic masterpiece is a harrowing drama that plays with reality and fiction to tell an intricate tale full of powerful twists and turns. In many ways, it’s like a novel, sucking us into their world and forcing us to observe. More than that, it gives us the power to interact with the story in some way, as our interactions both suck us in further and become our only link to reality.

The film features a former star, Chiyoko Fujiwara, and her two interviewers, Genya Tachibana and Kyouji Ida. As they sit down and prepare for filming, our leading lady invites us and these two men into a life story so mesmerizing it takes on a life of its own, blending and camouflaging reality with the eight fictions that embodied her life as she starred in them. We along with these men are mere witnesses to the tale that unravels before us, as everyone is suddenly thrown from her true story to her work and back again, and both life and art begin to imitate one another. Everyone enveloped in her story act in different ways. Genya enacts some of the roles with her, fully immersing himself in her films as both an avid fan and loyal crew member of her works. Kyouji reacts with bewilderment, often taking shots at his superior and cohort, and remarking on the absurd situations behind his camera. The former becomes the immerser, the latter becomes the spectator. We, the audience, become both. We witness and take part in every scene, even those they only hear instead of enter. At the same time, there are moments where only they can interact with her, namely when an outside force disrupts her, including her own vulnerability.

You see, she is dying. On top of that, she is mournful. Her life and stardom were built on a promise that could never come true. An injured man showed her a key, one she would bestow upon herself after having found it in the ground soon after. The man lived, for a time, but she would never see him again. All he left behind are a key and a painting, the latter of which she only knew about years later. Not even a glimpse at his face was left for her. Her career, which was ever so reminiscent of the life she led as a result, was predicated on a childlike fantasy, one where she would meet him again and proclaim her love for him. Only late in life, divorced from industry, does she recognize this. It wasn't the man's death that taught her this, for the man who killed him told the person who would interview her, and he kept it a secret until the very end. Instead, it was reality that did this to her. The old, spiritual hag that cursed her to wander in one of her roles, and the excitement and questioning from other children, were what killed the child that propelled her through the industry for so long. The old and jealous misled her constantly, and the young teased her just as much. After eight movies, once both had gotten to her, she knew she was done. Perhaps the films she starred in embodied her life too well.

It isn't just the narrative that pulls us into this picture. Satoshi Kon's masterful cinematography and the powerful, blistering chaos he instructed the team at Studio Madhouse to emphasize in every scene immersed us even further. Minor details add a sense of urgency to every scene, and hint at what's truly going on, creating a tremendous sense of rewatch value. Considering the fil;m's gorgeous use of sepia tone in its backstory, which not only evolves with the narrative, but was actually done manually, add further layers to this rich tale. Susumu Hirasawa's electrifying score added further weight to this sense of depth and rewatcability, and I can't even begin to do either of these two factors enough justice. Every single one of these factors intersects into this whirlwind spinning us and Chiyoko's interviewers around, forcing us to act and react upon every new twist and turn thrown our way. It's immersion as powerful and intricate as the tale itself. Only towards the end does our puzzle fully reveal itself. Only at the end do we know what happened at the final scene of Chiyoko's last film, one that Genya is forced to pause and rewind so he can meet her and learn of her life's story. Only then does Chiyoko's life end, understanding that the fantasy that kickstarted and embodied her life didn't really matter after all. The physical and metaphorical key was only there to unlock her purpose, not some ending where she and her love lived happily ever after.

Written and Edited by: CodeBlazeFate
Proofread by: Peregrine

Chiyoko is a retired actress who has agreed to be interviewed. Recounting her life to Genya - a fan - and his cameraman, Kyoji, the audience is taken on a journey to the past. 

Genya and Kyoji do their best to keep up with the spry Chiyoko as she has her first encounter with love and devotes her every action to reuniting with him. They’ll have to dodge flaming arrows, swallow special effects, travel from set to set, drive a bus, witness emotional abuse, and face more than one earthquake. 

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The parallel between watching a movie seen numerous times and thinking back on your life are at the forefront of this anime. Sometimes you might miss a line or notice something new in the background in a scene just as you may forget the details of a particular day or even year. Sometimes every line can be overlapped with practiced precision just as the details of an experience can remain visceral long after the event has transpired.

When you do more than simply listen to someone tell you about their life you become apart of them, apart of their story. Though they may have met you years later the information shared creates a connection that cares not for time. Some lives are intertwined even if the connection is unknown by one - or even both - people. This masterfully swirls the life of a young girl who became an actress for one reason and one reason only with the fanatical fanboy who's followed her carrer for decades. The camerman as an outsider who doesn't have all that much interest in Chiyoko's story acts the part of the detatched viewer who gradually becomes emmersed in Chiyoko's various roles and her first person narrative. 

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This movie will get the brain juices flowing and you’ll probably have a load of questions streaming out long before the end.

What drives someone to live, to keep moving forward everyday to never waiver in their affection? A need to have a purpose? Or an obsession to be with that special someone? A bit of both? A mixture of various things? Something else entirely? Are we puppets controlled by some creator or purchaser?  Is there more to life than romantic love? How ‘bout one sided crushes? Perhaps any reason to live is sufficient.

Movies have much to show us and we have much to share with those willing to listen. The earth is living. When the earth shakes it is saying something. When a storyteller wants to be heard they’ll stop talking. Everything becomes quiet after the storm and reflections are an immediate reaction.

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Specific to the ending: the instrumental music packs a punch while the lyrics picking up a ways into the song are a delightful surprise. It is a chanting, vocalizing, drum beating treat for the ears. 

Unfortunately English lyrics are not provided - or at least they weren’t on the version this reviewer watched.

Brilliant movie! This is the first time I have watched anything by Satoshi Kon, one of the most well-respected directors in the industry, and I can safely say that I've fallen in love with his style already.

I have to admit, I didn't entirely understand the storyline. It's execution is far more complex than its premise will have you believe. The story is basically two documentary-makers interviewing an actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara, from the olden days of cinema about her life. What makes its it all the more interesting is that the interviewers are quite literally immersed in the flashbacks, often taking on characters from her life or her movies. The story blurs the line between reality and movie-world and it is often difficult to decipher if we are watching one of Chiyoko's films or part of her life.

The animation holds up well, with some beautiful images being brought forth. One in particular that sticks with me is the ending with the rocketship, flying over earth and into the big, white vortex... I won't tell you what this symbolises just that it was a wonderful way to end the film.

Easily the highlight for me was the music. While I've read other reviews saying that the music wasn't anything great or memorable, I just don't understand how they could say that. The music was emotional, amazing and fit the mood of the film PERFECTLY. It enhanced the movie to a somewhat spiritual level, for me. The song during the final credits is also very beautiful. The english dub voice actors were pretty good, didn't detract from the movie at all. Though I reckon next time I watch it it will be in Japanese with subtitles.

What truly makes this film as amazing as it is, is the central character Chiyoko. Loveable and strong-willed, you see almost her whole life unfold before your very eyes in just over 80 minutes. Never once did it feel rushed (though that should probably go back up to the 'story' part of the review. Oh well.) By the end you feel the utmost awe for this woman, and once the film ends its surprising what an impact she makes. The documentary-maker Genya is also a fascinating and likeable character, who adds a great deal of depth to the story.

Millennium Actress is a must-see, and definitely more than once! It is quite an artsy film and a bit hard to understand, but if you keep an open mind I highly doubt you will find much to dislike here. A wonderful experience.

Omg what a boring movie , the story so weak man with many cutscenes that make no sense just to make the movie a bit longer , only animation was a bit  good .

the story basically about a girl met someone getting chased by cops and immediately fell in love with him , then he dropped a key she found it and tried to hand it over but he told her to give it back when they meet again so she kept looking for him Lmfaoo . Really ! Nothing more nothing less , no character development no real events no progression at all just and old granny telling her drama . 

Honestly pushed myself to reach the last minute of it , I stopped couple of times I dunno how ppl liked it that much otherwise I know it's matter of taste or point of view and no doubt of that .