Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Shi This film further reinforces my belief that Director Satoshi Kon is a master of depicting abstract ideas, especially love, time, and dreams. Kon never lets the limitations of reality interfere with his imagination and creativity. He is a consistent example of how anime can create a work of art that can't be shown through live-action films.The Millennium Actress follows Genya with his camera man, Ida, as they interview Chiyoko and learn the life story of the actress, who has since retired and secluded herself in bamboo forests and hills. The film does an amazing job of telling Chiyoko's story through the various movies she made throughout her life and showing the idea of forever chasing your dreams.The storytelling method by Satoshi Kon, where he puts Genya and Ida into the depiction of Chiyoko's past and movies, is fascinating and undoubtedly effective. Genya and Ida are like ghosts from the future looking into Chiyoko's life as she chases after the man she loves. It was refreshing to see the two interact physically and emotionally with the past world in order to "shoot" Chiyoko's story, as well as helping her "bring the movies to life." The editing, as expected from Satoshi Kon, is phenomenal. The transitioning between Chiyoko's stories and her movies are beautifully done. The movies and characters all have recurring themes as the stories shift genre backgrounds and time periods. The constantly changing settings and stories seem to reflect Chiyoko's feelings at a particular time in her life. The depictions of Japan's historical eras all the way to the Space Age are not only well designed, but they are never too long nor too short, and they keep the viewers constantly engaged as they piece together Chiyoko's life story.As an aside, I personally think that I've never seen someone direct and edit scenes of running/chasing better than Satoshi Kon.The soundtrack also helps to bring the animation to life and works in unison with the film to draw out emotions.Overall, Millennium Actress is a touching story told in the most creative, beautiful, and elegant way. The film is sure to stay with you as you go through your own life chasing dreams.

Anssi Vartiainen Millennium Actress is one of Satoshi Kon's finest works, and considering just how respected he is as a film director, that's saying something. It's a story about an aging actress who reminisces about her life as a young film star in the early 20th century Japan. The tale is told largely through flashbacks where memories mix with reality and dreams.And it is utterly gorgeous. The whole film looks fantastic, especially how they managed to capture the different eras and genres of film making with slightly changing animation styles. The only other studio or director that can in any way compete with this level of quality is Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki. It's that good. I also really like the way the framing story is mixed with the smaller flashback segments, with the interviewer putting in as different heroic characters. It's a tale about movies, but also about her personal struggle to find meaning in her life and to reach towards her past and lost chances. All the flashbacks intertwine, making it one of those film you almost have to see twice to fully get.The voice acting is also topnotch, the character designs are fantastic and even though the way the story is told is almost better than the story itself - journey over the destination - it's not a bad story at all, dealing heavily with Japan's film history.Millennium Actress is a treat for all that appreciate non-conventional storytelling, deeply layered characters and gorgeous animation. Please, check it out.

arnabmitra08 A great (and underrated) piece of work by Satoshi Kon. As always he has masterfully bridged the gap between reality and fiction. And this time he has added an unique form of storytelling to boot. A little background on Japanese history enriches the whole experience. But even without such knowledge, this is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of work.As always, the screenplay is brilliant and transitions fluid. The story starts at a slow pace but quickly picks up tempo. And never lets go, leaving viewers little space to breathe. In the end it leaves my mind in a state of ecstatic discomfort.A must watch for any and every fan of magic realism.

Amna Preet Pirzada Genya Tachibana is a documentary film maker, he searches for Chiyoko who was a great actress but had left acting 30 years ago and disappeared, somehow he tracks down Chiyoko and finds her and asks for her interview, he gives her a key which belongs to her, key had memories attached with Chiyoko's life, Chiyoko tells him about her life journey. Chiyoko is born when an earthquake hits Tokyo in 1923, war was looming in Japan. Young Chiyoko saves a guy who is a painter and revolutionary, he gives her a key. It's a story about how couple of minutes with a revolutionary made her fall in love and how she struggles to reach to him and to give him his key.This movie has a deep meaning to it, I loved the plot, animation and actors. The movie is filled with pain, love, and drama. The movie has a deep meaning to it, that no matter how much you chase after someone or something and how hard you try to get it or reach to it, you won't be able to get it if it isn't in your fate.