Imagine the opportunity to create a documentary about the most influential person in your life? This is what happens to Genya Tachibana, a mediocre middle-aged filmmaker. Genya and his goofy, yet colorful cameraman Kyoji Ida (voiced by Onosaka Masaya, Trigun's Vash the Stampede) set off to find the legendary Japanese film star Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko has been in hiding for three decades, since the release of her last film, a space epic, where she sets off to find her lost love. This movie's final scene ironically opens the epic tale 1000 Year Actress, known to English fans as Millennium Actress.
The plot of this movie and all of Chiyoko's life revolves around the same theme-a lost love known only as the Man of the Key. When Chiyoko was a young girl a man wanted by the Japanese Government for being a spy runs into Chiyoko on her way home from school. She helps him escape, and allows him to hide behind her house. Unfortunately, Chiyoko gets to see his face, all she knows is that he carries a picture, and is headed to Manchuria. Before leaving he gives her a key and tells her to keep it safe until he returns. Chiyoko immediately falls for the sensitive, brave rouge and keeps the key with her all her life. Soon after this incident Chiyoko is scouted for a leading role in movie being filmed in Manchuria and the rest is her story. Chiyoko becomes a national star, and ironically all of her movie roles revolve around one central theme, loving a man you cannot have.
The Director and Co-Screenwriter of Millennium Actress, Satoshi Kon (famous for his murder/thriller Perfect Blue) creatively takes Chiyoko's film career and her reality, and with the threads of irony weaves each of her roles into her real life as Chiyoko searches for the Man of the Key (voiced by Kouichi Yamadera Cowboy Bebop's Spike Speigel).
Daring and astounding camera cuts, animation, and story cleverly maneuver not only Chiyoko's life as it seamlessly crosses between fact and fiction, and allows Genya and Kyoji to actually "walk" with Chiyoko through all of her experiences. From Chiyoko's birth in 1927 during the Great Tokyo Earthquake, to her last film. Genya and Kyoji are perfect supporting characters and provide much needed comic relief in this eerily sad life like film. If this film were a real life epic both Genya and Kyoji would be nominated as Best Supporting Actors. Genya, a life long fan of Chiyoko's often finds himself as one of the supporting characters in her films. While Kyoji who is young and does not know much about Chiyoko's career, acts as spectator throughout these films. Kyoji's role though minimal, is critical, because his whole purpose is to "alert" the audience as to which parts of Millennium Actress are Chiyoko's life or her films. The way Kyoji and Genya seamlessly appear in this film is pure cinematic genius.
Millennium Actress is a good example of how animation can far surpass live-action. Like with Perfect Blue, Kon is not afraid to take a chance. No giant robots, magic, or space adventures. Kon captured humanity at its greatest and weakest and then created a successful piece of art. Watching this piece, you will feel empathy, sympathy, and annoyance with Chiyoko. These feelings will not just come from you watching her life, but rather because you can identify with her on so many levels whether you are a woman or man. We've all made decisions that have in a sense held us back from many great roads. Watching this movie shows the fragility and quickness of life and how our perceptions of happiness, rather than reality can sometimes lead us down a lonely road.
Dreamworks will release Millennium Actress and all of its perfection in the US sometime in 2003. It does not surprise me that Dreamworks picked up this picture for distribution; Millennium Actress is a movie right up Steven Spielberg's alley. If you live in a city where this movie is being screened before its major release, I am telling you to go and see it. This movie should be shown in film school alongside classics like Citizen Kane and I do not care if you have to pay $40 to see it. You will get more out of this movie than anything you have paid $9 to see in a long time.
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