Sennen Joyuu (Millennium Actress)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Chiyoko Millennial Actress

Japanese: 千年女優

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Information

Type: Movie

Episodes: 1

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Sep 14, 2002

Producers: Bandai Visual, WOWOW, Genco, Kadokawa Shoten, KlockWorx

Licensors: Eleven Arts, DreamWorks

Studios: Madhouse

Source: Original

Genres: Action, Adventure, Award Winning, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Themes: Adult Cast, Historical, Showbiz

Duration: 1 hr. 26 min.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 8.25¹ (scored by 84,912 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #322²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1275

Members: 187,442

Favorites: 2,666

Available At

Official Site

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

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]

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Background

The film won the awards of Best Animation Film and Fantasia Ground-Breaker at the 2001 Fantasia Film Festival. It was also awarded the Feature Film Award at the 8th Animation Kobe. In 2002, it won the prestigious Ofuji Noburo Award at the Mainichi Film Awards, and was honored with the Orient Express Award at the 2001 Festival de Cine de Sitges in Spain. The film was nominated for four Annie Awards in 2004, including Outstanding Direction and Writing.

Episode Videos

Episode 1

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

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

More staff

Staff

Maki, Taro

Producer

Hirao, Takayuki

Assistant Producer

Kon, Satoshi

Director, Script, Original Creator, Character Design, Screenplay

Mima, Masafumi

Sound Director

Edit

Opening Theme

"Chiyoko no Theme Mode-1 (千代子のテーマ MODE-1)" by Susumu Hirasawa

Edit

Ending Theme

"Rotation [lotus-2]" by Susumu Hirasawa

Reviews

Sep 5, 2023

Halalex

Recommended

Managed to catch this one on the big screen for a rewatch, and boy is it refreshing to watch a movie about movies that actually tells a story about the emotions elicited by movies, as opposed to just the fame/glamour/drama of starring in them. It just kind of manages to recontextualize every piece of media I've consumed up until this point, in a positive way of course.

A reserved color palette that manages to be as interesting and unique as those of Satoshi Kon's other, more vibrant works.
An unsurprisingly outstanding score by Susumu Hirazawa.
A complete trust in the audience to just accept the film ...

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Mar 20, 2024

bergars

Mixed Feelings

A love that feels like 1000 years.

“Millennium Actress” is one of those movies that's just about to be something, but isn't at all. An exploration on the film industry, but no, it's an observation on actors. A love story, that's more about the objective, not the destination. An interview, that's actually a love letter. It keeps changing, evolving, turning into a piece of a person's heart. What motivates a person to pursue art? To pursue love, to pursue a passion? What are everybody's motives to be where they ultimately are? In the end, you're where you stand, at this very moment, for a ... reason.

None can easily explain a movie from Satoshi Kon. They're always breaking conventions with the genre they use as a base. As the last movie I've seen from his stuff, it's equally baffling to truly encompass the themes, and meanings in a single review. In itself, this is the story of an actress, and how she goes about remembering her life. It all happens between her memories on film, of each role she got, of each era she portrayed. Everything slowly connects with her search for the man she's loved since she was in school.

It never confused me, but it wasn't ever entirely clear about its intentions. It's got a layer of a supernatural destiny, or it could very well be a metaphor for a love that feels like it lasted 1000 years. Escapes normal boundaries, it breaks the people around you. The jealous ones, the guilty ones, the co-workers. Life becomes all about a fruitless pursuit, but it isn't terrible at all. Life moves on, and one continues searching for something, with motives, with intent, with energy. In a way, even in the end, “I'm more in love with the pursuit”, makes life all the more worth it.

Now, I don't agree one should search for love, and sacrifice everything else around one to get it. However, I love how it turns back into a lesson about the objectives we wish to achieve.

All abstract elements aside, I love the way it's tied up with incredible animation. Fluid, expressive, perfectly in line with the quality Satoshi Kon is known for. No frame is wasted, and the human beauty in his works never ceases to amaze me. The soundtrack had this electronic vibe to it that makes scenes all the more memorable.

This sounds like a 9/10, or something clearly higher, but while this movie deserves all that praise, I couldn't connect at all. The story was pretty standard, and predictable. The way it was told was probably its best aspect, but all around, it got extremely repetitive. For such a short movie, clocking in at 80 minutes, I think I saw the same scene 3 times in a row. Could've worked if that was chopped down to tell one story, without any breaks or repetition. The pacing was a true issue for me, and you can cut this one by a lot.

Instead of immersing the audience, you make them wonder why are we getting the same scene, with a different era, done in the same way. Just, move it along, I want to see the rest. Even with the excuse of setting up the cathartic ending, I don't think the repetition helped it by that much.

7/10. I really like the movie for what it tries to be, and the quality can't be understated. It's a problem with what it actually does to achieve. The editing room's got a better movie, for sure.

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May 25, 2023

Okamii_JA

Not Recommended

Funny

Omg what a boring movie , the story so weak man with many cutscenes that make no sense just to make the movie a bit longer , only animation was a bit good .

the story basically about a girl met someone getting chased by cops and immediately fell in love with him , then he dropped a key she found it and tried to hand it over but he told her to give it back when they meet again so she kept looking for him Lmfaoo . Really ! Nothing more nothing less , no character development no real events no progression at all ...

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Sennen Joyuu

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Characters & Voice Actors

Fujiwara, Chiyoko

Tachibana, Genya

Ida, Kyouji

Man of the Key

Ootaki, Junichi

Ayakashi

Scarface

Shimao, Eiko

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Sennen Joyuu

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Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Ending Theme

Reviews

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