Millennium Actress
Sennen Joyu
[DVD Info]

After a 70 year run, an old movie studio is being torn down. Genya Tachibana (VA: Shôzô Îzuka) and his assistant Kyoji Ida (VA: Masaya Onosaka) decide to make a documentary on the tearing down of the studio and of the famous actress Chiyoko Fujiwara (VA: Miyoko Shôji) who was now 70 years old. While he interviews her, she tells him about her life. When she was a young girl she met a man who was running from the law. She took care of him but he disappeared leaving her a key "to the most important thing in the world" in hopes that they would meet again. She would grow up to become a successful actress who played parts in movies that reflected her own search for this mysterious man. One day, his key (that she now wears around her neck) is stolen and feeling that she'll never meet her mystery man, she decides to settle down and get married...but when the key resurfaces she just can't get him out of her head! Will she ever find him? Or should she just forget about it?

"You're not dressed for this era." ~Kyoji.

See below...

Now...is it just me...or did this movie not really make a lot of sense? Sure it's anime, and sure, it's directed by the same person who directed Perfect Blue (and THAT movie was confusing) but the PLOT made sense but the story doesn't (does that makes sense?). Like, did that old lady really exist or did she haunt her from a movie she made. Time seems to be all over the place. You can't really tell what parts were movies and what parts was her actual life (i.e. the train station, running to the snow, the feudal time in Japan, the old lady...etc). I really, really wanted to like this movie (which is why it gets 2 stars instead of 1)...and it has all the right elements but they didn't play them right. Sure the ending is sad, you get fond of the main character but the story line was so out of control that the ending leaves you glad that it's over because unless they were about to explain everything straight out then to continue would've been pointless. Because of this, the jury gives this flick:

[BACK]