Director: Satoshi Kon
Year: 2001
Genre: Fantasy
Speaking of Satoshi Kon, check out my anime podcast, The Reel Anime Podcast, which is only on Spotify, where myself and @thefilmmajor talk about films with today's topic being related to Satoshi Kon himself. Here's the link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/02mitVCggAYLDRaGlyF5sM?si=4e68cea36c654eee
Introduced by my good pal of mine,@thefilimmajor (https://mohrajakumaran.wixsite.com/blogspace) - a link to his blog account. This is certainly a film which I'm glad I watched.
It's such a shame how Satoshi Kon left us just over 10 years ago, if he was still alive to this day, who knows what films he could produce? Thus far, there has been three of Kon's film that I have done - with Tokyo Godfathers being the one which has not been covered yet. Despite him only having four films released, I feel like he is considered the 'Godfather' of anime.
It is a bit of a long shot for me to say that he is a Godfather; however, I feel like this is a perfect example of quality over quantity. Sure it was only four films, but all of those four films delivered.
Chiyoko Fujiwara, an actress currently retired, is interviewed for a documentary, with Kyoji and Genya, who were the pair who were interviewing Chiyoko. The film takes you through Chiyoko's life and showcases what she has gone through. Well, this film is different from Perfect Blue - it has more of a positive impact and makes it enjoyable to watch.
When explaining the story, it almost feels like you are a part of it. Take the two characters who are there to interview Chiyoko, some make us question whether they are a part of it perhaps. The film's main focus point is on Chiyoko's life and uses the use of colours and music to tell the film. Some scenes contain Japan's history inside and it almost feels like it's what Japanese history is all about film. It's certainly a creative way of telling a story and this is one of the reasons why Kon is one of the best anime characters out there.
Each of Kon's films has a message he wants to convey in his film. Take Perfect Blue, focuses on the toxic side of being a pop idol, whereas with this film, it's like almost saying thank you to Japanese cinema through the art of cinema. Tokyo Godfathers is showcasing the sad side of Christmas, and Paprika focuses on the element of dreams and how people can be a part of it.
With its unique way of telling the narrative, Millenium Actress is certainly one of my favourite films of all time. I certainly like how Satoshi Kon makes you a part of the film - which makes your imagination run free. However, the main focus point is obviously telling Chiyoko's story in a film and not making it feel like it's a biography, and also, including elements of Japan as a country in the film, which is one of the things I certainly like.
It's certainly one of the most unique films out there in the anime world and I can't think of any films which are almost similar to this.
Rating: 10/10
smashing article ah! I very honoured to be featured in this one ah.