Anime: Sennen Joyuu

Como ya les he dicho, Satoshi Kon es a mi parecer uno de los grandes exponentes del anime en Japón, ya que después de hacer a Perfect Blue demostró todo lo que era capaz de realizar en una sola película y la calidad de MadHouse como casa animadora. El caso que nos trae aquí, sin embargo, no es el de su opera prima, sino el de su segundo trabajo, Millennium Actress.La historia va acerca de una anciana que narra sus vivencias como una joven actriz a un par de entrevistadores, mientras que parte de su biografía se va mezclando con sus actuaciones dentro de sus películas y al mismo tiempo habla sobre su busqueda a un hombre que sería su amor no cumplido. A esto de las películas hay que mencionar que posee todas las características de Kon sobre unir la realidad con la ficción y así sumar a la narrativa, donde los eventos que parecen falsos en realidad sirven para hacer una fuerte crítica o como alegorías y simbolismos. Lo que a su vez le permite usar sus transiciones, cortes, escenas y en general a todo el montaje para permitir este efecto, probando porque la que considero a su director como todo un mago e ilusionista. Que sumado a una perfecta producción, a la cual no le puedo ver ningún fallo, ni de animación, ilustración, coloreado, diseño y una larga lista de detalles, hacen que sea toda una exquisitez visual.Ya hablando más sobre la historia, ya que es solo una biografía toda la historia está enfocada únicamente en la protagonista, Chiyoko. Así que se podría decirse que solo hay un personaje, siendo todos los demás complementos de ella. Algunos de seguro apuntarán esto como un grave error, puesto que los personajes sirven más como herramientas argumentales. Un ejemplo que apuntarían sería el hombre al cual se enamora, ya que no sabemos nada de él aparte que es pintor, y que su función es solo para el enamoramiento y posterior búsqueda desesperada. Si bien puede ser un punto en contra, aquí no afecta dado que no es un aspecto importante y que de hecho se entiende porque cumple principalmente como una idealización de una vida que la protagonista no tuvo que un amorío serio, pero ya tocaremos ese punto a profundidad mas adelante. Los demás personajes son parecidos, quizás las excepciones serían los entrevistadores que escuchan en tiempo real la historia y en ocasiones se meten dentro de esta para interactuar con la protagonista. Algunos dirán que esto no tiene sentido y cómo es posible que puedan hacer eso, pero el film logra que tenga sentido debido a lo fantasioso de los eventos, ya que como he dicho se mezclan con cosas de las películas de Chiyoko y que representen papeles de estas. Pero volviendo con el punto anterior, ellos solo sirven para que veamos los hechos, mas no como personajes con conflictos propios, además que Genya funge como un protector de Chiyoko, ayudandola en su busqueda y para consolarla y el camarógrafo como un chiste al darse cuenta que de la nada están en el pasado.Y ya que les hablé mucho de lo de las películas, algo que algunos consideraran como extraño sobre la película es como en ocasiones Chiyoko habla más sobre sus encarnaciones dentro de sus trabajos. Lo que da pie a que muchos de los eventos estén repletos de momentos de acción. Y aunque puedan parecer superfluos en un inicio, la verdad es que esos papeles son en realidad su vida siendo idealizada por ella, ya que la autentica que vivió fue aburrida y triste la cual no quiere recordar cómo fue en realidad y prefiere recordar esas fantasías convirtiéndose a sí misma en un personaje caricaturizado que refleja sus problemas. Por lo que dichas escenas cumplen no solo como un buen espectáculo para que te entretengas, sino también como parte de la vida de Chiyoko y su psique que prefiere esconderse en el entretenimiento retorciendo su propia memoria.Esto sin embargo deja un cierto inconveniente que tiene esta película, y es su falta de trama. Más allá de la vida de una actriz y su búsqueda por su amor perdido el film no tiene nada que decir. Por lo que puede sentirse algo vacío pese a los temas que maneja y podría sentirse como un puro entretenimiento. No obstante a la final la película por la resolución logra mostrar como las distintas restricciones y problemas sociales que se vivían durante los tiempos de Chiyoko le impidieron poder cumplir lo que ella en verdad quería, y terminando con una vida que si bien fue feliz haciendo películas es una que le parece incompleta, como cuando tenemos que dejar nuestros deseos solo por demandas de los demás, eso es una interesante lección sobre los sueños, y como les dije el amorio no es lo importante sino su idealización, como la de nuestras metas cuando somos jóvenes que intentan cumplirlas ciegamente. Y algo como la vieja maldiciendo a Chiyoko es solo la representación de lo que ella misma negando que ha desperdiciado su vida, ya que la odia y ama al mismo tiempo, por no completar sus objetivos pero a la vez que pudo aprovechar su vida en cosas que le concernían mas como alentar a los soldados en la guerra o casarse y vivir como una actriz que a la vez conmovió a otros.Al final pocas cosas podría decir que le reprocharía por si misma. Algunos sin embargo suelen hacer comparaciones con su hermana mayor, Perfect Blue. Que aparte de algunas similitudes como que tienen que ver con hacer críticas a la sociedad y a la industria del entretenimiento, poseen focos distintos siendo la primera un drama de vida y el segundo un thriller psicológico. Por lo que los superficiales apuntarán a la última como superior al tener mayor contenido explícito y atrevimiento en temas,a lo cual discrepo por no enfocarse en como ejecutan sus premisas. Y si bien no les mentiré que en efecto es verdad que Perfect Blue posee mayor densidad en su trama y exploración de personajes, también les diré que Millennium Actress posee muchos menos problemas, siendo los cambios abruptos de tono lo único que podría reprocharle, de uno serio como cuando Chiyoko intenta buscar al tipo a cambiar a uno comico por la interacción con los entrevistadores dentro de la historia y su reacción ante su presencia.Para ir concluyendo les diré que esta obra es bastante satisfactoria, enseñando que no es necesario fingir acerca de quiénes somos y de intentar cumplir nuestros sueños y a la vez ser sutil en lugar de restregártelo en la cara. Es un gran balance entre estilo y sustancia, un asombroso estudio de personaje y una pieza que merece un gran reconocimiento. Además la banda sonora es de Susumu Hirasawa, solo por eso deberías darle una mirada, y si eres un fanático acérrimo de la animación, estas por automático obligado a verla.

Critic’s Log - Earthdate: November 18, 2013. Review #67: Millennium Actress.

Keys open doors, and keys can even be used as a symbolic meaning such as a key to endless possibilities, a key to imagination, and even a key to someone’s heart. Doors can be used as a symbol as well. But a key is always used with doors and anything else that has a lock. This may not translate well in the written word or even many novels that have been written years ago and even today, but it can be painted in art and even film. Enough with the philosophical stuff, I would probably get way over your heads. Please forgive me, Here’s Millennium Actress!

When Studio Ginei commissions filmmaker Genya Tachibana to make a documentary in commemoration of its 70th anniversary, he travels to a secluded mountain lodge to interview the person he looked up to of his youth, the enigmatic Chiyoko Fujiwara, who was the studio's leading lady from the 1930s until the 1960s. As Chiyoko reminisces about her life, Tachibana and his cameraman suddenly find themselves on a rich and dazzling journey through time. Chiyoko's films and personal memories intertwine with present events and stretch the boundaries of reality.

To be technical, this is a Studio Madhouse production, and you should know what that means. The animation is going to be great. With all due respect, that is to be expected when we are talking about Madhouse and feature films. Of course the budget is going to be higher than a Anime show. What I will say about Millennium Actress regarding this is that it is Satoshi Kon’s visual masterpiece. Every single moment is animated well. There are some moments that don’t move much, but it’s still animated well. The way the animation moves looks incredible and it really is a visual treat. Not only does it look outstanding, it also has some experimental techniques that give the movie some uniqueness which does fit in the movie if you look at it in a certain point of view. The movie is also quite symbolic as well and the animation helps with this too. Even color is symbolized to an extent in this film and it’s pretty subtle. The animation and visuals makes this film worth looking into, it is not the most important factor of Millennium Actress yet it helps greatly.

The music by Susumu Hirasawa is an interesting part about the movie. The past is set in the 1930’s and 1940’s, The music is electronical and even some techno. This would raise a good question Would this even fit the settings? The answer: Surprisingly, Yes!. Like Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress blends reality and fantasy. The music is also in great contrast with the historical setting that part of the movie has even though in a fictional sense it is still bringing up real events in the 40’s. The music fits if you are able to see where I’m getting at. I will however let you be the judge about this whole thing. As for the soundtrack itself, it is atmospheric and compliments the movie really well. Susumu Hirasawa really knows how to tone his music. This movie was 5 years after he did the soundtrack for Berserk, which was an amazing soundtrack to listen to outside the show. With Millennium Actress, this is one of the soundtrack that proves that Hirasawa-san is a musical “artist”. It is also a great soundtrack to listen to without the movie.

As for the voice acting, The Japanese cast is really good. Fumiko Orikasa is great as the Teenage Chiyoko. Miyoki Shoji plays her role just fine as the elder Chiyoko. Koichi Yamadera is also pretty good as the Man of the Key. Shozo Iizuka plays his part well as Genya Tachibana, and Masaya Onosaka sounds like his usual self as the cameraman Kyoji Ida. The cast is mostly great and they don’t disappoint. As for the English Dub, Well… There is no English Dub to this one sadly, unless you’re from the United Kingdom. Since I live in America and there is no English Dub to this movie, I will not discuss the “UK Dub” to this movie. Come to think of it, I think having no dub to this movie may not be such a huge problem after all. The movie is rich with Japanese culture and history, it also has homages to movies too. I was surprised to see homages like Godzilla, Seven Samurai, and even a bit of 2001: A Space Odyssey. For someone such as myself, I get a bit of a kick when I see stuff like this… A kick in a good way. I am totally fine that no Dub exists in this movie and come to think of it. With a movie that is rich with Japanese culture and history, It would fit perfectly in the Japanese language because of obvious reasons. Some Americans do like an English Dub to these sort of things when it comes to Anime, but to be perfectly honest it would be a little alienating to some of those who are watching this movie in an English Dub if the movie is rich with Japanese culture and history. Just saying. I like watching Anime Subtitled and Dubbed. But since no English Dub exists for where I am at, I will say that this movie shouldn’t be looked over because of that. It is a must-see for it’s visuals.

As far as characters are concerned, Chiyoko is the main star and she gets most of the viewer’s attention (which is fitting). Genya Tachibana isn’t a bad character at all and he does have his traits that make him relatable to those that have some degree to an obsession over a famous or not so famous actor or actress as well as voice actors and voice actresses. This makes Genya less one-dimensional. The cameraman Kyoji Ida does not develop much because well… he’s the cameraman. Then of course there’s the Man of the Key and he has the more mysterious role in this movie, so I won’t go into much detail about that. If character development is what you’re looking for, you might want to give Millennium Actress a pass for this. Chiyoko has all the development here, everyone else has medium to minor development and with this kind of movie, I don’t have much of a problem with this, it is somewhat fitting.

What is debateable throughout the whole movie is the narrative. It does have a plot, it does develop, but it is told in such a non-linear fashion that it will be hard to keep track for most people on their first viewing of the movie. I will say that this movie does have a very high re-watch value because of that and because of the visuals. There is a great deal of flashbacks and that is where it can prove difficult to understand. This movie does blend reality and fantasy quite well, and this would not be the last time that Satoshi Kon would do this because Kon-san’s trademark is that he integrates fantasy into reality in his storytelling. He is quite a visionary. This non-linear characteristic is both the film’s strength and weakness. The story is told by the eyes of Chiyoko, and with all the stuff that may confuse people. This was a good method of storytelling because of the films that Chiyoko is in. The weakness is that Tachibana and Ida were part of it making it a little confusing and ambiguous. But in spite of that, the story is still good and it really is a visual masterpiece for Satoshi Kon.

Millennium Actress was available by Dreamworks and Go Fish Pictures, for some reason. This movie is becoming hard to find and it’s price in places like Amazon are quite high. My guess is that it is out of print, maybe because Go Fish Pictures has been defunct since 2007.

With all that said, Millennium Actress is one of the masterpieces of Satoshi Kon despite flaws. Its Animation is incredible and a visual treat. The characters are mostly fine and Chiyoko fittingly has the spotlight for most of the film, The music is terrific and from a damn good composer. The story even with its flaws is touching and does not disappoint. This is a very unique anime film that you really should see.

I give Millennium Actress a 9 out of 10, it is EXCELLENT!

Feel free to leave a comment. After all this time, Reviewing anime hasn’t bored me in the slightest.

Another one of those great films just for being animated by the king of anime Studio Madhouse and directed by the now late Satoshi Kon. The whole plot is basically the heroine describing her life through her movies. The whole movie is about her so there is practically only one character in here. Since she married her role as an actress, and got isolated from the rest of the world for decades while getting crazy on an unfulfilled love, the narration tends to blur reality with fantasy. This is the usual trademark of Satoshi, who loves to make his works to feel like a hallucination that is meant to criticize the modern way of life. In this case he shows how love can twist one’s mind to the point he seeks refuge in entertainment. In the case of the old actress, she escapes to her own movies, which tends to have a double irony, as they were normally made for her fans. Also, Satoshi is decent enough to not sexualize his characters, plus all the action scenes are meant to be allegorical instead of brain-dead explosions and killings.

At the same time the actress almost deliberately tries to make her own past to sound so exciting, just because she doesn’t want to admit how dull and fruitless it was in her personal happiness. And thus even the simplest event of her daily life ends up being mixed with samurai sagas, space adventures, and war dramas, just for the sake of entertaining the audience. She has practically turned to a caricature that has ceased to try being happy herself and cares more to make her listeners interested with fiction. After a point on you are not even aware if what she describes actually happened or is just complete fabrication just for the sake of dramatization.

To be honest, there isn’t much of a plot going on it the film as all the key events are stuff we get in a run of the mill dramatic romance. All the flavouring with the movies mixing with real events ends up being hollow entertainment for the sake of not feeling bored. So be warned that there is very little going on besides that. There is a major plot twist that comes in the end of the film though, and it occurs only when the curtains have dropped and the show is now over. A sad epilogue to a heroine that looked for love in the wrong places. If we stretch it further, it is also about how we gradually give up on our dreams because of our jobs or the social restraints of the time and place we live in. How much more could a woman do in a post-war Japan?

Many tend to compare it with his debut work, Perfect Blue, for also dealing with the delusions of an actress. Although some parallels can be found, Millennium Actress tends to rely too much on elegy of an elderly woman remembering her youth, rather the anxious lifestyles of a young pop star and the perils it may encounter because of fame. So as themes go it is a social drama rather a psychological thriller. This tends to be viewed as inferior to Perfect Blue because an old woman talking about her past is not as exciting as a young pop idol being chased and raped. Oh well, it is fine for what it is as long as you don’t think like a horny otaku craving underraged girls. It still looks gorgeous, has amazing production values for its time, professional directing, and leaves food for the mind without directly bombarding you with morality speeches.

Although there are many live action films with similar themes and presentation, such as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Sunset Boulevard, it still remains a special entry to the anime medium. It is not full of shallow entertainment but is meant to tell you to stay true to your feelings and not to try impressing others by turning to a showbiz caricature. Few anime try to be cathartic without having cop-out resolutions to their conflicts (meaning time loops or magical resurrections), and thus Millennium Actress is a good recommendation if you seek something more mature and meaningful.

edit: I thought I should edit this review slightly, by making itmore proper and readable, taking out more of my laid-back language. AlsoI decided to cut the spoilers in this review.[br][br]~~~~~~~~~[br][br]Story, Character[br]The overall story is one about love. The movie is based on the memories of a retired actress who is being interviewed. The uniqueness of Sennen Joyuu would be based on how the story was told, and its animation portrayal (further discussed in Animation section). This unfortunately, is its only positive point.[br][br]The actual "storyline" flows as the actress remembers them. Although the movie does attempt to capture a realistic "logic" in the way a person would remember their experiences. Scenes morph into scenes, her real memories melt into memories of hermovies, her first love melts into everything. It is somewhat senile since the protagonist is considerably old, but overall it is exciting, fascinating, creative and funny. This may be similar to telling one's own personal memories, this kind of storytelling does draw a person's attention. Despite that, this portrayal does become quite repetitive. All her memories have the same faces, the same villains, the same families. This eventually leads to a kind of restlessness that one would have of listening to mom's or grandma's same old stories of her youth.[br][br]There really isn't much that can be said about the development of the protagonist's character. This may have something to do with her age (or more accurately, senile), but the lack of this takes away a lot from what makes a good movie. The actual time span of the movie does last a lifetime, however her ideals or growth through the years is not reflected in her memories. Her portrayal in the movie only gave the impression of her own childishness, which diminishes her value and worth as the protagonist, making her appear shallow.[br][br]On the more positive side, the reporter and cameramen seemed to develop quite well in the movie since the animation allowed more of a relationship development. As realistic as they were played, they were just minor roles.[br][br]Animation, Sound[br]Decent. Very similar to Perfect Blue by the same director.[br][br]I found the animation portrayal of the memories and present times quite interesting. The reporter and cameraman actually dives in the memories of the protagonist/actress as she talks about them. At first there's a distinct colour difference between the crew and the memories. The crew follows the young actress from a distance in the scenes of her memories as she tells her story. The crew then slowly participates in her memories, generally taking up minor roles in past movies she's been in. The colour difference diminishes as they continue to know her personally. To a certain extent, this helped boost some kind of relationship development between the reporters and the protagonist.[br][br]As with the sound, unfortunately I don't remember.[br][br]Value, Enjoyment[br]Honestly, I quite enjoyed this movie. I quite like the storytelling style of this movie despite its more negative factors. Although the lack of character development may be due to her age, I would have preferred a more "wiser", "memorable", "better impression" type of character, probably more deserving of someone of her calibre (being an actress for so long). I would still recommend watching this movie though.[br][br]

(Writers note: If you read this review, RATE this review. Authors thrive on feedback, whether it is a simple happy face, or an in-depth critique.)

Millennium Actress is another film by Satoshi Kon, the master of dementia whose resume includes Paranoia Agent, a 13 episode series revolving around a boy with a golden bat whose victims seem happy to have been attacked, Tokyo Godfathers, a tale of two homeless men and one woman who find a baby in the garbage and spend an endlessly eventful night trying to find the parents who abandoned it, and Perfect Blue, the one and only suspense/thriller anime in existence, which revolves around an idol turned actress who is being haunted by a stalker who may exist only in her head.

Millennium Actress is arguably his best work, with flawless animation, a perfectly timed soundtrack, and a story that seamlessly blends an actress’s memories with her acting roles to tell an allegorical tale of lost chances, lost love, and the beauty (and treachery) of the human spirit that will leave many viewers heading to the store to buy a new tissue box.

The animation is in Kon’s usual style, with expressive faces that reside on the border between normal and super deformed. The animation quality is on par with Hiyao Miyazaki’s films, with very fluid movement, no still frames, and no repeated footage. Backgrounds are highly detailed, and beautiful to look at it, from amazing snow-filled landscapes and sunsets, to the cramped style of a country home.

Normally I would complain about the repetitive nature of the music, but in this case, it worked so well that I have nothing to complain about. There is a scene late in the series reminiscent of the “Climbing the wave” scene in Mind Game where the intensity of the music combined with the nostalgia of the images of what came before brought me to tears.

The seiyuu do an extraordinary job bringing their respective characters to life. The three voice actresses who play Chiyoko, when she is young, adult, and old, sound perfect for the role, as do Genya, the long-time fan, and his sardonic camera man, Kyoji. Sound effects are noticeably well done, from the mundane sound of a door creaking open, to the more exotic sounds, like that of a train whistle.

Millennium Actress tells the tale of Chiyoko Fujiwara, an old retired actress who has accepted her first interview in decades. The interviewer, a long-time fan named Genya Tachibana, brings her a golden key, which brings all of her past memories overflowing to the surface.

Most of the movie plays in flashback, moving through the events of Chiyoko’s life, from when she first became an actress to when she finally quit years later. What makes Millennium Actress so interesting is the way in which the characters of Genya, the interviewer, and Kyoji, the cameraman, are inserted into her memories. On top of that, Chiyoko’s memories are occasionally blended together with her acting experiences, with Genya and Kyoji playing out different roles, while still being aware of their insertion into her past.

Whether Genya and Kyoji are actually in her memories, in her movies, or in the past is never explained, nor does it need to be. The point gets across without any explanation. I would compare this lack of understanding to the military exploits in Saikano, where the armies that were fighting, as well as Chise’s fighting abilities were never explained because they would distract from the real message.

Millennium Actress is a breathtaking experience through the life of an actress who has been searching for a lost love since childhood, and how that experience has changed and shaped her life. Satoshi Kon’s unique storytelling style, using dementia elements to tell what could have been a mundane romantic reminiscence, transforming it into a stylized, abstract tale of human condition, and what lengths a person will go to feel complete. Definitely a must watch for any fan of Kon’s, dementia, romance, or just something original.

Millennium Actress's story is hard to describe without ruining the film. Initially it tells of the history of one of the great stars of a Japanese film studio, as her memories unravel when a documentary of her is being made, but the film transforms in a hazy blur of fantasy and nonfantasy, with a sharp cut back to reality for a moment in the end.

It comes as no surprise to find out that Millennium Actress is directed by the man behind the psychological thriller Perfect Blue: Satoshi Kon. Those who have seen Perfect Blue will find in Millennium Actress many familiarities, like the described blurring of fact and fiction, the magically fluid transmissions from one scene and age to another, and the general style of character appearance.

Millennium Actress is, however, a radically different film. Perfect Blue's chaotic anxiety is replaced by dreamy fantasy in this tribute for Japanese film-making. Eras from the Meiji restoration to the Space Age are explored with one recurrent theme: love. It is a cliché, which is exactly why there's no other theme more fitting for a chronicle of film-making.

The story can feel confusing. There is no obvious, common straight line, and a continuity that extends in a chronologically logical way is impossible to make out. It will need some getting used to, but if disbelief can be suspended, the story works fine. It emphasises the fact that while the settings and the times change, people and their emotions remain the same. It remains quite simple with all the aesthetic surface taken away, and is as such the weak point of the film - not a big problem, however. Millennium Actress is primarily a visually enthralling experience with just the right amount of emotion thrown in. The ending was almost catharctic in execution. The characters remain slightly shallow, but the two main ones receive ample development that many TV series could only dream of.

The animation is a proper upgrade from that of Perfect Blue - albeit comparing the two does Millennium Actress no justice. The style, the colours, all are sharp and bring realism to the different settings. Cutting and directing give the film great rhythm, with time to take a deep breath before plunging back to the action.

The sound department is also worthwhile, with well-performing seiyuus and a New Age soundtrack blended with healthy doses of electronica in the style of Vangelis and perhaps Enigma. If any of those two artists are to your liking, you'll certainly enjoy the soundtrack. The music serves its purpose well and contributes to the pacing and mood of the film.

As an experience, Millennium Actress is one to look forward to, both for a friend of animation and a friend of films in general. Animation is the natural medium for the themes and ideas it presents, as it contains elements, mainly visual, that would be impossible or, to say the least, look out of place in a live action film. It's Satoshi Kon's masterpiece for the time being, and is recommended viewing for anyone who enjoys excellent visuals, a touching story and above all fantastic distortion of reality.