Sennen Joyû (2001)
Genre: Animation / Drama
Duration: 87 minuten
Alternative title: Millennium Actress
Country:
Japan
Directed by: Satoshi Kon
Stars: Miyoko Shoji, Mami Koyama and Fumiko Orikasa
IMDb score:
7,8 (36.246)
Releasedate: 14 September 2002
Sennen Joyû plot
One of Japan's major film studios closes after an amazing 70 years. A documentary maker is tasked with making a film about the studio, and he focuses on one of the big stars, Chiyoko Fujiwara, as the centerpiece of his film. After finding Mrs. Fujiwara (she has lived as a recluse for years), he and his cameraman follow her as she leads them through the history of her life and career.
Actors and actresses
Chiyoko Fujiwara (70's) (voice)
Chiyoko Fujiwara (20-40's) ( voice)
Chiyoko Fujiwara (10-20's) (voice)
Eiko Shimao (voice)
Genya Tachibana (voice)
Kyouji Ida (voice)
The Man with the Scar (voice)
The Man of the Key (voice)
Chiyoko's Mother (voice)
Mino (voice)
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
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- 87623 messages
- 12889 votes
It remains beautiful.
Kon's sense of timing and editing remains really perfect. At every moment in a scene he knows how to cut to the next in a great way, no one did it better than him. Furthermore a genius soundtrack, smart to let Hirasawa just work within his own style.
The story is captivating, there are some nice references and the film remains pleasantly short, although there is still some action. Furthermore, I thought the addition of the two reporters was a very smart move. The humor works, it ensures that the film does not become overly dramatic and it is an original way to make a statement about the narrative power of the medium.
4.5* and an extensive review
Translated from Dutch · View original
arno74
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- 8700 messages
- 3342 votes
Without realizing that it was from the same director, I immediately thought of the much better Pafekuto Buru (1997). The film starts off strong but demands too much from the viewer. The story is about a director who makes a documentary about the life of an actress. As a result, her life appears in the film in a special way, the director and his cameraman appear in all her memories to record them (which unfortunately is very disturbing). The memories are not only about the actress but also take on the form of the films and characters she has played. In this way, her story is told in which the setting and her character change every now and then, so that the director and his cameraman who, as a kind of irritating cinema visitor, have to comment on everything are also constantly switched. The common thread in her life is a key that she received from someone when she was little, after which she went looking for that person (a story that remains open).
Without the fuss with changing characters and settings to let her films pass by, and without that disturbing director, this could have become a very beautiful animation. The beginning and a few rare normal scenes in between about the life of the actress clearly show that. Too bad that such a different concept was chosen. 2.5*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
baspls
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- 4118 messages
- 1673 votes
During an interview, an actress recalls her life through the films she has appeared in. This brings to light her never-ending search for her lover.
Millennium Actress is a good Japanese animation film by Satoshi Kon. The setup is quite special and the fact that the fan and interviewer also played a role in the film fragments made it funny at times. In the end, the same story is told a few times, but that was not really a problem because it was fun to see the different settings from the Japanese film world. I recognized Ran from Akria Kurosawa and Gojira. Nice how the film has incorporated Japanese (film) history into the story.
The animation was particularly beautiful. Apparently in Japan they were still using cell animation in 2001 and it is still just as beautiful. The drawing style was detailed even by Japanese standards, which resulted in some very nice pictures.
All in all an entertaining anime with a strong romantic story about an actress. The structure could have been better, but the story was captivating and the beautiful animations make the film more than worth watching.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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