Millenium Actress

[Music-chan]

This was a movie I caught because a friend of mine lent me her DVD.  Before I give my opinions, let me sum up very quickly.

A popular actress around the second World War suddenly stops acting at the height of her career.  A filmmaker who idolizes her goes to do an interview due to the demolition of the company that made the actress a star.  The interview runs a wild course through the actress's start in show business and the many parts she played.

If you've seen Perfect Blue, the style will be familiar to you as the direct is one and the same.  As with Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress tends to blur the line between what is reality and fantasy.  The actress herself often gets caught up in her rememberances and the two documentary men are caught up in the story of her life and her acting history.  It all starts with the actress meeting a man who is involved in the war and is being hunted by the police.  He gives her a key and promisses to see her again.  The rest of the woman's life is spent trying to find this man and return what belongs to him.  Every part she plays is merely a reflection on this fact, an echo of her effort to search him out no matter where he may be.

The movie likes to mess with your mind a bit, as did Perfect Blue but it's not so much of a thriller, as it is drama.  I was quickly caught up trying to figure out what was the actress's real life and what was just her parts on the stage.  Though it's a drama, there is also plenty of action for those who want to see some sword fighting, though keep in mind the movie is more about the story and not about the action. The ending is particuarly poinient and left a strong impression on me.

I was also highly impressed by the music. It was both moving and beautiful.  All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. Though it only comes subtitled (which isn't a problem for some people, but is for others), I think it's definitly worth adding to your collection, or at least watching at least once.

http://www.millenniumactress-themovie.com/

[DB]

Here I'll disagree slightly, though some of it comes from the fact I loved Perfect Blue. In PB, the line between reality and illusion was so perfectly blended that there were parts that you were uncertain if it was real, a movie, or a psychotic break by the lead. Here the blurring is used again, with scenes blending together, but lacking the effectiveness from its first use. In MA, it comes across more as a cheap gimmick than a clever storytelling device. They really shouldn't have used it, and gone with a more conventional approach for telling MA.

I did find MA dry by the middle, as the lead's life became a touch redundent, always just missing the man she's looking for (so to speak, I won't give away spoilers, though I had it figured out before the truth is revealed). But shortly before the first hour elapsed, I became tired of the same thing over and over happening. This thing could have been cut by a half hour to forty five minutes easily, and it wouldn't have hurt things. They drew events out in the story far too long.

Then comes the lead in MA. In the beginning, she's interesting enough, but as the movie develops and her life continues snd she grows older, I care less and less for her. This actually might be a natural result of the 'moral of the story' which is revealed at the end and ties directly to it. Now this is not because it's a drama. 'Only Yesterday' is a character piece that relies heavily on the flashback, and it had the exact opposite effect on me. Again, perhaps cutting a quarter of the movie would have helped a bit.

The supporting characters were all fairly dull, especially the ones in the present. The ones in the past disappear frequently as they dart in and out of the main character's life (and since it's all a flashback from her perspective, she's the only consistancy in it). But it's up to the lead to carry all but ten minutes or so of the film, and the plot isn't what really supports it. Unfortunately, it failed for me in that regard.

I will agree that the music is nice. Animation was top notch as well. But this was a major disappointment for me. While I knew MA was not going to be another Perfect Blue, I did expect better from these guys.

Rank: 4 out of 10. Barely worth watching once, and a lot of missed potential, IMO.