Amazon.com: The second film by director Satoshi Kon and screenwriter Sadayuki Murai recalls Perfect Blue, but Millennium Actress is a more complex, subtle, and sophisticated work that evokes the history of Japanese cinema. After nearly 30 years of living in strict seclusion, the aged film star Chioyoko Fujiwara grants an interview to journalist Genya Tachibana. As their conversation begins, Kan intercuts scenes from Chioyoko's films with her memories of pursuing the mysterious artist she met as a young girl. Accompanied by his blasé cameraman, Tashibana finds himself within Chioyoko's memories and films, alternately observing and aiding the woman he adores. Kon's skillful direction and subtle use of color strengthen the intriguing story: Chioyoko's memories are rendered in shades of gray, with hints of muted color highlighting the overall composition. American viewers will find their appreciation of this shimmering, spiral narrative deepens with repeated viewings. (Rated PG: violence, mature themes) --Charles Solomon
Anime at its best...for ANY Millennium! This is certainly one for the ages! I only started viewing Anime within the last two years, and was I ever pleased that my brother recommended this one. The artwork is fantastic, the storyline bitter-sweet (keep a couple Kleenex handy, just in case), and the ending appropriate...I don't understand why some seem to not get it?!? What I don't understand is why no English dubbing (at least not on the DVD I watched). This is the only thing I found to be annoyingly distracting...but not enough so to give Millennium Actress less than 5 stars!!!
Quick Overview Wow, a powerfully moving drama with such an interesting art to it. This is hard to describe, but it follows a man who was a great admirer of a famous actress who has since left the stage. He is granted an interview and relives her famous movies, placing himself into them a the story unfolds
Another great masterpice!, a touching story.... This is another great masterpice from Satoshi Kon, he has made 4 movies and one complete animated series, and there all great, he has a very unique touch for expresing his ideas, he likes to create diferent realities, play with symbols, and always give a message, and not something useless or typical, but somethin more pure, more related to daily life... he has a way of showing how "human" we can all be, showing we all have a sweet side, as dark one... In this movie he shows the life on an actress through her movies, showing what moved her to become an actress and lead her from one movie to another; he shows that there is more than simple motives for what we do, and that somethimes we dont realize how deep impact our desicions have in our lives, and how life goes on so quick, becomes a great adventure, and finally comes to a conclusion, and maybe, only in the end we get to understand most of our steps along the way. I think its an animation masterpiece, and anyone that likes anime should see it, you wont regret it. and for anyone who is starting to know about anime, you cant go wrong with this movie. ENJOY!! i hope this has been helpful.
Excellent Movie I almost didn't watch this movie at first - it was a little slow getting started and I had other things to do. I'm glad I waited though. It's more than a love story, it's a story of finding meaning in life. There was a nice balance of the humorous and sentimental. I've given this as a gift before and I really recommend it to others.
A pleasant surprise I was somewhat nervous about buying Millennium Actress without first seeing it. This was because I found Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue a bit "edgy". I was pleasantly surprised to find Millennium Actress a delightful film. It is entertaining, engaging and not at all disturbing. While the ending is not a classically happy one it does not leave you feeling sad or dissatisfied. A good buy for anyone who enjoys quality anime.
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