Sennen Joyuu

At the turn of the millennium, Ginei Studio's dilapidated buildings are set to be demolished. Ex-employee and filmmaker Genya Tachibana decides to honor this occasion with a commemorative documentary about the company's star actress: Chiyoko Fujiwara, the reclusive sweetheart of Shouwa Era cinema. Having finally obtained permission to interview the retired starlet, an enamored Genya drags along cynical cameraman Kyouji Ida to meet her, ready to put his lifelong idol back in the spotlight once more.

Hidden in this secluded mountain retreat is a thousand years of history condensed into one lifetime, waiting to be narrated. Chiyoko's recollections take them on an illusionary journey through Japanese cinematic history that transcends the boundaries of reality; the saga of her acting career intertwines with her filmography, the actors in her life blend seamlessly with the characters on screen, and the present melds with the past. Though the actress may have retired at the height of her career 30 years ago, the curtain on her life's stage has yet to fall.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Fujiwara, Chiyoko Main

Orikasa, Fumiko Japanese

Tachibana, Genya Main

Iizuka, Shouzou Japanese

Ida, Kyouji Main

Onosaka, Masaya Japanese

Man of the Key Supporting

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Ootaki, Junichi Supporting

Suzuoki, Hirotaka Japanese

Ayakashi Supporting

Scarface Supporting

Tsukayama, Masane Japanese

Shimao, Eiko Supporting

Tsuda, Shouko Japanese

Maki, Taro Producer

Hirao, Takayuki Assistant Producer

Kon, Satoshi Director, Script, Original Creator, Character Design, Screenplay

Mima, Masafumi Sound Director

Reviews

Mar 21, 2009

Skadi

Recommended

Millennium Actress is a wonderfully crafted story about a fateful encounter of a young girl and how it shaped the rest of her life. Though I am always a little hesitant about awarding such high marks to anything, this movie was one of the most riveting and unique anime experiences I have had.

The story follows a pair of filmmakers who are interviewing a famous actress who has been retired for many years to celebrate the studio's 70th anniversary. Millennium Actress features one of the most original story telling methods I have seen. We see the majority of the movie told through the ... actresses various movie roles. We shift from feudal Japan, World War 2, and a futuristic moon base, amongst others. You are never actually sure what is real and what is the movie all the time. I also found it interesting that the two filmmakers were always observers during the entire process. Their presence provided an interesting way of narrating the story and kept the viewer from getting confused by the constantly changing scenery.

Though many will perhaps not be able to relate to Chiyoko's devotion to a man that she hardly knew anything about, I still never felt as though it was too farfetched. Whether or not she truly loved him the way one might feel for a lover is beside the point. Her love is what shaped the remainder of her life and allowed her to accomplish the things she had. I think this is summed up best by her last lines from the film when she comments that finding him was not that important, because it was the chase that she loved the most.

The two filmmakers Genya and Kyoji provide a nice anchor for the viewer. Of the two Genya is the most important and as the story unfolds we learn about his past and why he idolizes Chiyoko. As for the object of Chiyoko's devotion we really learn little about him other than has ultimate fate. I think it was a good decision from a storytelling standpoint because his mysterious nature was what kept her looking for him.

The art was really exceptional. There were sometimes that some of the backgrounds looked like actual photographs and perhaps they were but they seamlessly fit in with the rest of the animation. The film as does a wonderful job at portraying many different settings. Everything feels so authentic from the prewar Japan costumes and architecture to the 50s styling and fashions.

Overall I really can’t recommend this movie enough. I don’t think its appeal is limited to just shoujo and romance fans. Give this movie an hour and a half, you will be glad you did!

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Aug 23, 2023

Preachee

Mixed Feelings

Minor spoilers ahead.


Millennium Actress is a film that can easily be called great. It is outwardly audacious and seemingly gorgeous in nature.

Though in reality, Millennium Actress seems like it would be praised as long as the aesthetics are nice, the plot is not straightforward and that it is directed by Satoshi Kon. Not only are the fans often completely oblivious of any criticisms, but their belief that this movie is a magnum opus also won't change because of what was mentioned (as ridiculous as it sounded). About it being a faultless masterpiece, I beg to differ.

The story is downright average and uninspiring. That said, the ... story has a heart, with an intention that remains clear and consistent. Unfortunately, this is also one of my biggest gripes - the movie is rather 'static' for what is essentially labyrinth of a narrative, which is totally incongruous (and more on that later), and has virtually nothing to anticipate other than “does the actress meet her love?”, which is kind of a dull two-sides-of-a-coin. Nevertheless, the movie still manages to feel complete because of its 'heart'. Also, paying homage to Japanese cinema is no good excuse for an average story, though it's nice and somewhat exciting to feel such radiated, genuine affection of Kon towards the rich cinema history.

As briefly stated, the execution is poor. As thin and uninspiring as the story was, the execution did not do much to embrace it. To regurgitate what I said, it's not brilliant to have an abstruse narrative for a story so simple, quixotic even, hence the incongruity. Much of what Kon does was dragging the weak storyline for an hour and a half. For a story with barely any philosophical weight nor plot development, the messy confusing narrative didn't make it more "complex", only pretentious. “But it merges reality with memories...”, sure. I understand that by the end of the actress’ life, she can recall the events so vividly and can’t differentiate what’s real and what isn't; yet forasmuch as this whole sequence solely focuses on that concept alone without even bother to have a wider, or deeper reach, it gives the audience no insights or depth other than the actress' very simplistically discernible state of mind. Perhaps, this would've been so much more effective had the emergence not just taken up such a big chunk from the movie. When an idea so superficial being told this grandiosely, it will inevitably give the impression of self-indulgence. And to make matters worse, dragging it out wears out any novelty. The narrative, while somewhat impressive, not only lacks depth, but precisely because it lacks depth that it also comes off as pretentious.

The characters, I guess, are fine. They're fun and likable enough to lead the audience till the end, but none of them are really remarkable. Some parts of the scripts are honestly so corny though. I could forgive everything these hombres say throughout the movie, but even the very last line? It’s a corny melodrama kick in the gut. It literally just goes to prove my view on how the movie is as shallow as it could get, and yet with sprinkles of striking but empty visual storytelling, Kon manages to make it seem perplexing, yet not actually so.

That said, the tone did make the experience somewhat endearing. It's difficult to fully criticize Kon because the man was such a talented romanticist in this film. Kon knows exactly how and when to utilize comedic relief, or to build our expectations up for an emotional impact. So thanks to that, the story flows quite seamlessly. Still, this is insufficient as a saving grace for an overall poorly-written and executed movie.

But, if we really stop bothering about Kon's excuse of a story, we are left with what is probably Kon's true intention - a heartfelt love letter to Japanese cinema, elevated and, without reservedness, expressed via the exercise of exhibiting grand, unbounded audiovisuals. The animation is flawless and the attention given to the art is nothing short of stellar. The music is pretty good and generally well used. I have no real complaint about the production value and perhaps would even more than enthusiastically sing praises to the aesthetics alone.

Again, though, this movie is subpar in almost every other way. Satoshi Kon is definitely not a hack, however refutably overrated, for he has demonstrated his genuine competence in composing his own coups such as Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers, and even glimpses of greatness here and there in Millennium Actress. Nevertheless, the self-indulgent and bafflingly convoluted narrative has made Millennium Actress his weakest work that I’ve experienced so far. Mind you, this movie used to hold a 10 on my list for quite some time, so I do understand all the worshipping. Yet have I verily changed my mind to thus give my sincere final verdict upon this movie: How corny.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Oct 22, 2021

negrut

Not Recommended

Funny

Have you guys watched the same movie as i???
The movie i watched 10 minutes ago was 1:26Hrs of this "INCREDIBLE" PLOTLINE: A old woman tells her "stupendous" love (i think?????) story, she was in her likely 16 when she meets an OUTLAW, TAKES HIM HOME, TAKES CARE OF HIM (WITHOUT ASKING NAME OR ANYTHING), in the other day he leaves... AND SHE SPENDS HER ENTIRE LIFE LOOKING FOR THIS GUY. Alright, this is the plot.. Repeated for more than A HOUR. But hey, the "aesthetic" its great and pseudo-cult likely, and this PIECE S*, sorry, this plot is repeated in various scenarios, i ... forgot to quote but she becomes an actress. And she plays the same role in all her movies, which is in this case the same Muggle role she plays in her "real life" that I mentioned above (she has a less acting roles than freaking adam sandler). So if you for some reason like this movie and give some stupendous 10/10 scores i would like if you tell me WHY. Its just the aesthetic's? Its cause satoshi is a famous dude? Its cause in some way its a "cult" one?
Like i said in the begining i really watched the same "MOVIE (??)" as you guys? Cause what I have watched was just 1:26hrs OF THE SAME SCENE REPEATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN in sort of diferent scenarios. This was a torture..
OBS: That ""love"" journey of the movie was not close to love, i would say the protagonist is a psychopath, i think its a less worse and more rational way to interpret this thing..
There were times when I was thinking that the guy she wanted didn't even exist, just an ilusion of her madness mind (which would be minimally more interesting, in fact interesting is a word that doesn't come to mind about this movie, if there's one thing he's NOT is this), and also there were times when I almost slept, but not even to sleep the movie cheered me up.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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