Millennium Actress is a stunningly beautiful piece of animation.
The movie begins by showing a pair of documentary makers, an old interviewer and his younger cameraman, who have been given the privilege of interviewing one of Japans biggest female movie-stars ever, Chiyoko Fujiwara, about 30 years after she unexpectedly retired from film-making. As they start the interview they are shown the actress's story from two angles - her real life, and the movies she has made. They are surprised in finding that those two don't differ as much as one might think.
Following the celebrated actresses life is wonderful, albeit a bit hard to follow on the first viewing. From Manchuria in the 1930's following her real life the movie suddenly jumps to feudal Japan and one of Chiyoko's movies in a completely different setting, after that to another movie set in yet another era and a different genre. We are shown action, drama, science fiction and horror, often without any narration where the real characters can explain what is really happening on- and off-stage as other movies have thought us to expect - this most likely leads to some (or many) viewers not really understanding that what we see in Chiyokos movies at the same time is her real life story, in turn perhaps leading to a sense of unfulfilment. That "Millennium Actress" had no real story, when it absolutely has and the story is a great one. Director Satoshi Kon plays with us, using refined techniques from his previous movie "Perfect Blue" in binding the two lives of Chiyoko together and making us question what we are watching. Is it one of her movies or a scene from her real life? Once again Kon proves himself to be a one of the worlds best directors.
Now, if the two different perspectives doesn't make it complicated enough, the interviewer and his camera man also get to join in on the fun - appearing in the memories and films of Chiyoko's life. While sometimes being just right, as well as underlining the intimate knowledge the interviewer has of her films, the comic relief they are supposed to yield at other times can distract from the scenes themselves. It's a small nitpick, especially considering how they bring the audience closer to what's happening in the movie and really lifting those killer scenes.
And speaking of scenes, Millennium Actress has a ton of great ones. Beautiful scenes that will stay with you for a long time, brought to life by exceptional animation - fully exploiting every advantage animation has over traditional cinema in creating an animated movie like no other. The animation is further complemented by Susumu Hirasawas wonderful music, music that breathes of life and magnifically portrays the young actress's life as she progresses through life.
With a wonderful story, humane characters, superb direction and beautiful animation, Millennium Actress is one of those films that simply gets to you. And what more could you ask for?
The movie begins by showing a pair of documentary makers, an old interviewer and his younger cameraman, who have been given the privilege of interviewing one of Japans biggest female movie-stars ever, Chiyoko Fujiwara, about 30 years after she unexpectedly retired from film-making. As they start the interview they are shown the actress's story from two angles - her real life, and the movies she has made. They are surprised in finding that those two don't differ as much as one might think.
Following the celebrated actresses life is wonderful, albeit a bit hard to follow on the first viewing. From Manchuria in the 1930's following her real life the movie suddenly jumps to feudal Japan and one of Chiyoko's movies in a completely different setting, after that to another movie set in yet another era and a different genre. We are shown action, drama, science fiction and horror, often without any narration where the real characters can explain what is really happening on- and off-stage as other movies have thought us to expect - this most likely leads to some (or many) viewers not really understanding that what we see in Chiyokos movies at the same time is her real life story, in turn perhaps leading to a sense of unfulfilment. That "Millennium Actress" had no real story, when it absolutely has and the story is a great one. Director Satoshi Kon plays with us, using refined techniques from his previous movie "Perfect Blue" in binding the two lives of Chiyoko together and making us question what we are watching. Is it one of her movies or a scene from her real life? Once again Kon proves himself to be a one of the worlds best directors.
Now, if the two different perspectives doesn't make it complicated enough, the interviewer and his camera man also get to join in on the fun - appearing in the memories and films of Chiyoko's life. While sometimes being just right, as well as underlining the intimate knowledge the interviewer has of her films, the comic relief they are supposed to yield at other times can distract from the scenes themselves. It's a small nitpick, especially considering how they bring the audience closer to what's happening in the movie and really lifting those killer scenes.
And speaking of scenes, Millennium Actress has a ton of great ones. Beautiful scenes that will stay with you for a long time, brought to life by exceptional animation - fully exploiting every advantage animation has over traditional cinema in creating an animated movie like no other. The animation is further complemented by Susumu Hirasawas wonderful music, music that breathes of life and magnifically portrays the young actress's life as she progresses through life.
With a wonderful story, humane characters, superb direction and beautiful animation, Millennium Actress is one of those films that simply gets to you. And what more could you ask for?