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Millennium Actress
Media: Anime Film
Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Historical
Anime Director: Satoshi Kon
Studio: Madhouse
Licensed? Yes (Go Fish Pictures)
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Millenium Actress, Satoshi Kon's follow up to the critically acclaimed Perfect Blue, is a prime example of his mode of storytelling. It is a look at a, now elderly, actress' life through an interview. Genya Tachibana, the director of a documentary about Chiyoko Fujiwara's life comes to her house with his cameraman to ask her questions about her life and career. Chiyoko is now very old, and she has sequestered herself from public life. However, she pours her heart and soul into the interview, and the two interviewers are swept into her story. They watch as she moves from being a timid schoolgirl to her being a middle aged movie star. All the while, she is searching for the man who she met as a girl and fell in love with. The plot is shown through a combination of real-life flashbacks and scenes from Chiyoko's movies. The movie is as moving and interesting as any of Kon's anime, and is definitely a classic.
By Vampt Vo (3/17/07)
Millenium Actress is written with incredible emotion. It keeps the quick-paced and thrilling style of works like Perfect Blue, though takes a much more peaceful role. The characters succeed in having very real emotions. Chiyoko's devotion to her long lost love and Genya's devotion to the actress drive the story, making it feel very deeply human. This film takes incredible concentration to fully understand, however. The mixed-up storytelling style makes it interesting, but also causes it to confuse to the viewer. This is a movie that truly forces the user to think beyond the confines of their own physical world.
The plot is not exactly action-packed, but all of the energy is contained in Kon's vibrant storytelling and editing style. Scenes of Chiyoko's real life and her characters in the movies blend and mix. At first, they are easily noticeable. Later, when Chiyoko's movie roles begin to have similar stories to her real-life problems, the shift becomes less evident. The cuts are fast and interesting, and the animation is sharp and clean as well. As usual, Kon's art style portrays human emotions almost flawlessly. The characters almost look real, and their expressions look completely natural. In addition, the artists were able to make dramatic shifts of style between the different eras of Chiyoko's film career. (For example, in one scene, Chiyoko is seen during one of her roles riding a horse through a pastel land of overlapped paper layers) The art is equally vibrant and detailed. Finally, backgrounds are incredibly detailed, and include fully grained wood and lush forests.
This film also succeeds in music with an epic and dramatic score. The sounds are loud, moving, and complement the scenes nicely.
Millenium Actress is by far one of my favorite animes of all time. (if not my absolute favorite)
After seeing this film for the first time, I decided that Miyazaki was out, and in my mind, the true best anime director was Satoshi Kon
On the second viewing, I was still blown away by the power of Kon's directing style.
Quite simply, the man knows how to make you feel.
The climax of Millenium Actress illustrates this. You are rushed through a beautiful sequence that, when you reach the end, has you feeling both tired and awed.
You will leave any viewing of this film just that, awed, and still thinking about what you have just seen.
This is truly a story for the Millenium.
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| Animation: |
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4.0
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Average:
(3.875 stars)
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| Plot: |
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3.5
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| Voice Acting: |
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NR
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| Sound: |
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4.0
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| Overall: |
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4.0
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