Review of Millennium Actress (2002) by Bobby S — 31 Oct 2003

Two days ago, I rented MILENNIUM ACTRESS. That first night, I attempted to watch it, but despite being animated, my son was soon jumping up and down on my head in boredom. Thus, I shelved it to try again the next day.

At that point, I liked what I had seen - which was just the opening and the very first "shift" where Chiyoko meets the stranger who gives her the key. I had high hopes - the concept was intriguing, the animation was beautiful, and I liked that I could hear the original Japanese music with it - really kept the mood in place.

All of my high hopes unraveled last night when I watched it through, however. What could have been a beautiful, understated way to illustrate this documentarian's passion for his subject, and her longing to return to the days of her glory, went a step too far with the disbelieving cameraman, who came off like he was making an inappropriate joke every time he opened his mouth.

If the audience develops an attitude like the cameraman's, that's their prerogative and at least then the film has evoked a genuine emotion. But I felt like this experiment ultimately failed. It was as though the writer and director shielded themselves from potential criticism by building each possible reaction to the conceit right into the film - the wonder of the documentarian, the sarcasm of the cameraman, the patient understanding of Chiyoko's servant.

The film still looks beautiful, but its arrow misses the mark.