AquamarineGem

—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.