Anime Review: Millennium Actress

When Studio Gin'ei commissions filmmaker Gen'ya Tachibana to make a documentary in commemoration of its 70th anniversary, he travels to a secluded mountain lodge to interview the idol of his youth, the enigmatic Chiyoko Fujiwara, who was the studio's leading lady from the 1930s until the 1960s. As Chiyoko reminisces about her life, Tachibana and his cameraman suddenly find themselves on a rich and dazzling journey through time. Chiyoko's films and personal memories intertwine with present events and stretch the boundaries of reality.

(Source: ANN)

Millennium Actress Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Millennium Actress Synonyms:

Millennium Actress Studios: MADHOUSE, Bandai Visual, Genco, Kadokawa Shoten,

Millennium Actress Review

A brilliant cinematic experience from the greatest director of our time. His technique really shines.

Millennium Actress is the late Satoshi Kon's second directorial work and, while not as dark as Perfect Blue was, just as intricate and creatively written as it or any of his movies. For those of you unfamiliar with Kon's work, you should know now that it's very cerebral and it can be very hard to follow if you're not paying attention. If you have a short attention span or just don't like to think... well, first of all, I pity you, and second, this movie's not for you.

__Writing:__ As with any of Kon's movies, the writing and direction is where it really and truly shines. The story of the film is a retelling of an old actress's several-decade acting career through an extended interview with a documentary filmmaker and his cameraman. Throughout the movie, scenes jump between the quiet mountain home in which the interview is taking place, Chiyoko's flashbacks of her life off the set, and flashbacks of the many various roles she played in movies throughout her career. These three stories intertwine in what can only be called organized chaos as events from each of these settings overlap and feed into one another, slowly piecing the whole of the story together in much the same way Perfect Blue did (though, between the two, I'd say this one is easier to follow). The characters all have believable and well-established histories that meld with one another's (barring the lovably oafish cameraman, who's just along for the ride) and it all ties together neatly in a sad but beautiful conclusion that, hopefully, leaves the viewer wanting for nothing.

__Art:__ As with any of Kon's works, the art is a touch above the rest. It doesn't go overboard with digital effects, but it is drawn in a very detailed and realistic style that makes it a bit easier for those more familiar with the live action film medium (unlike myself) to identify with. The animation is fluid, the shading subtle, and I can't speak of any complaints with the visuals as a whole.

__Sound:__ The Japanese dub is up to standard with reasonably respected live-action Japanese films in terms of acting. The English dub is, I will say, passable. Not fantastic, but not necessarily bad, either. Truthfully, there's not much wrong with the acting or voice work in the English version--the biggest reason it loses points is for a couple pronunciation issues that anyone who knows anything about anything about Japanese is going for find very grating on the ears (sam-yurr-eye). It's also worth noting that the dub is Region 2-exclusive, meaning it was never released stateside and, if you want a copy for yourself, you'll have to import it from somewhere like Europe as I did. As far as music goes, this was the first Kon film in which longtime collaborator Susumu Hirasawa composed the soundtrack. Hirasawa is also the composer for the original Berserk anime series, Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika. First entry perhaps excluded, you can't really go wrong with the guy.

Again I say: Millennium Actress is a very cerebral and (at least relative to most anime) hard-to-follow movie, but a great one largely for these reasons. If you're willing to sit down and go for a ride, it can take you on a very engaging trip, so if you feel you're up to it (or if you've seen and enjoyed any of Kon's other works), I highly recommend this fine piece of cinema.