Some inspiration about the nature of love?
Added 9/12/2009
Some confusion between life and her life on film
seems involved in the telling of her story.
Some kinds of beauty endure even age.
The Japanese actress of the 40's becomes
the little old lady being interviewed.
The key seems to be the key to her heart,
but becomes the key to her memories.
Is her undying love a blessing or a curse?
We find her chasing, always chasing that man
she can never reach.
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Great movie
Added 8/3/2009
If you like anime at all, go see it. If you don't like anime, see it anyway. If you like Titanic, Forest Gump, or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, also see it.
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familiar premise put to better use
Added 7/16/2009
As far as the "old lady gets a long-forgotten sentimental trinket returned by someone who wants to interview her" film genre goes, Millenium Actress sure beats hell out of Titanic.
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Why no English dub?
Added 5/21/2009
I buy these anime movies to share with my 12 year old daughter. I was quite surprised that this film Millenium Actress, with such a compelling story, did not have an English dub! My daughter won't watch films with subtitles, it bothers her eyes. All the Miyazaki anime films have nice English dubs. Dreamworks really disappointed me by not giving us an English language dub for this movie. Because of that I can only give it 3 out of 5 stars, but if it had a nice English dub I could have given it a perfect score.
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A Fantasy of Film and Dreams
Added 2/25/2009
It was after being exposed to such films as 'Princess Mononoke' and 'Spirited Away' that I went to a local retailer for what I hoped would be more of the same. This was several years ago, but then, as now, the selection of Anime feature films that are not lifted directly from a television series are few and far between, which is unfortunate, since this genre offers a unique method of storytelling which could be awkward and unappealing, if not impossible, in a live action effort. Unfortunate too are the chances that any full length independent feature, at least what is offered to Western viewers, will tread on similar ground as those that have come before.
Thankfully, then, we have such films as 'Millenium Actress' and a few others which do not slip neatly into the commonly perceived boundries of this genre, and, to me, hold their own against any other type of film. At heart a dual story of unrequited and unrealized love, I felt it rose above even that catagorization to touch on some deeper, more subtle themes, and in a manner reminiscent of classical literature coupled with complex technique and plain old fashioned movie fun.
The fabled Genei Studios (a stand in for Toho Studios) is in the process of being torn down. A documentarian, Genya, and his cameraman, Kyoji, track down the face of Genei Studios, the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who has lived in seclusion several years after making her last film. Now in her 70's, the still elegant Chiyoko has granted Genya an interview in return for a memento he has brought her from her studio days.
As Chiyoko tells the story of her life for the documentary, a curious blend of fact and fantasy and memory begins. At first, it has all the trappings of a normal flashback, except to the surprise of Genya and his cameraman, the power of the memory is so strong that it incorporates them into the story as well, and, initially at least, they are passive observers to events 60 years old. Here they watch as Chiyoko, a pre-adolescent girl during the years before WWII, meets and then assists and then falls in love with an anti-government agitator - a painter, wounded, and on the run from the authorities. Although she tries to help, the police close in and the painter is forced to flee.
At this point, Chiyoko's memory merges into film history - excerpts from her earliest film role, as explained by Genya to his cameraman while they watch, parallel her life's events. Obsessed with her painter, Chiyoko begins her career as an actress simply as a way to chase after him, first to Manchuria, and then skipping across the country, always a step behind. Interspersed with her history are scenes from films (always with Genya and Kyoji tagging along), which also feature a heroine in search of her love. Genya takes a more and more active role in her memories and in the film excerpts, and slowly it becomes apparent that Genya has been chasing Chiyoko almost as long as she had been chasing her painter.
Some viewers may find 'Millenium Actress' confusing at first - I did. Like most anime films, there is not a lot of explanation prior to engulfing the audience in its own quirky universe. Real world events blend into personal history which in turns fades into popular film that is then hijacked by the kind-hearted Genya as he tries to help his actress in any way that he can. He and his cameraman ricochet (often comically so) from Kurosawa type samurai films to Godzilla to dynastic period films as they follow Chiyoko as she in turn trails after her painter to the very limits of imagination. What catapults this film out of the strictly romantic and into another far subtler realm of human obsession are the last words of the film, spoken as Chiyoko begins her final journey.
This effort was in part a Dreamworks production, though what degree of infuence they may have had is difficult to know. The film has a thorough authentic feel to it, and in the extra 'making-of' segment, it's apparent that all the principal players were Japanese. Some may not appreciate the lack of an English sound track, but I do not feel that this detracted from the movie at all.
Aside from the storyline, the animation in this effort far exceeds the director's previous film 'Perfect Blue' (In my opinion, everything about 'Millenium Actress' exceeds 'Perfect Blue'). The only drawback that I noticed was the music, which I felt was to cloying. A mixture of J-pop and swelling 'heart string' music, I felt it interfered more than helped.
Very enjoyable, though, and highly recommended to fans of all film.
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