Plot: A+ *Millennium Actress tells the tale of two documentary filmmakers that meet up with Chiyoko Fujiwara a once-famous actress who has been in retirement for thirty years for an interview. As she begins to recount her life story, the line between reality and fantasy is blurred adding a sense of surrealism to this magical tale on Fujiwara's chase for love. There are few things I find more precious in this world than when skilled directors and creators make movies that are their love-letters to cinema. And Millennium Actress is 今敏 [Satoshi Kon]'s love letter to Setsuko Hara and her works from 1935-1962. Just watching analysis videos you can see some of the scenes from this film that were nearly shot-for-shot replicas from several of the films she starred in and many other hand-picked films that Satoshi Kon adored. Where パーフェクト・ブルー [Perfect Blue] focuses on the negative aspects of stardom and how obsession can lead to madness for both the performers and the fans, Millennium Actress is a much more pleasant film that showcases how cinema can inspire and how it becomes a part of people.
Visuals: A+ *Perfect Blue wins in terms of uniqueness and the way the "camera" moves throughout the film. But Millennium Actress wins in terms of how aesthetically pleasing this is to watch. The world is much more inviting and the surrealism is playful, fun, and beautiful to look at.
Voice Acting: *I'm not going to give a rating here. Even though I was able to finish the movie (albeit I switched from dub to sub several times), the sub is definitely better.
[ Film Score/Soundtrack: B *I am not the biggest drone fan and there are a couple of fairly long drone ambient tracks, and three of the songs are different variations of Chiyoko's main theme, but it's still a good score that has a lot of memorable moments that stick with you long after the film is over.
***My favorite track: Run (How could it be anything but "Run" which is where the film explodes into this epic climax as Chiyoka continues with her chase for her love. It's a powerful moment and a powerful song too)
Characters: A *Chiyoko is the star of the film with the interesting past that drives the story forward. But it's Tachibana, the interviewer for the documentary that gives Millenium Actress the passion that it needs to succeed. He is a long-time fan of Chiyoko and who has to stop himself just short of fanboying upon meeting her. But much to his surprise, instead of being annoyed with his interview and in his obvious excitement meeting her, she actually was an eager interviewee that told her life story with enthusiasm and even played along by acting out the fantasies with him. It's one of those precious stories of a person meeting one of their heroes and the person living up to their larger than life reputation by not being bigger than they are, but by being more human than they ever imagined. Seeing how excited Tachibana got when Chiyoko started to recite her story about the origins of her lost key made me excited and helped to draw me in. Whereas Ida, Tachibana's cameraman for the interview, is much like us the general audience watching this film. He doesn't really know much about Chiyoko and her past and he doesn't quite understand Tachibana and his obsession, but he plays along and ends up getting captivated just like the rest of us.
Cringeworthy Anime Moments: Satoshi Kon was all about pushing boundaries and doing things that other directors could only dream of doing. Therefore he doesn't do cliche nor does he pander to audiences with fanservice. He just makes an honest to God original story with beau
Opening Titles: Short and sweet with one of my favorite songs from the score Chiyoko's Theme Mode 1 playing as it shows clips of Chiyoko's life with very interesting transitions.
Final Verdict: 9/10 What can I add that I didn't say already in the plot section? This movie is an absolute delight to watch! It tugs on the heartstrings while never ceasing to be interesting to watch from beginning to end. I love this movie!
