Review of Millennium Actress (2002) by Christopher G — 04 Dec 2010

I think I like the idea of this movie better than the actual movie. Genya Tachibana decides to make a documentary about one of his heroes, aged actress Chiyoko Fujiwara. She takes Genya and his cameraman through the entirety of her career, as they peek into her personal life and film roles. Everything blends together seamlessly and it becomes tough to tell which parts really happened and which are film roles.

As with many Japanese anime films, this movie is very grounded and humanistic. It's really a study of determination and the place of pop culture in society. It's also somewhat of a ode to Japan's history, as Chiyoko's roles take her through many different eras in its history.

Millennium Actress is well-made and it has a lot of heart. It just didn't totally mesh with my personal taste.