Sennen Joyu

Title: Sennen Joyu Millennium Actress Chiyoko Millenial Actress 千年女優 (Japanese) Overall: Buy Keywords: 2001, Artistic, Drama, Fantasy, Historical, Movie, Romance, Slice of Life, Surreal Notables: Animation - Madhouse IIZUKA Shouzou KATAOKA Tomie KON Satoshi KOYAMA Mami KYOUDA Hisako ONOSAKA Masaya ORIKASA Fumiko SATOU Masamichi SHOUJI Miyoko SUZUOKI Hirotaka TOKUMARU Kan TSUDA Shouko TSUKAYAMA Masane YAMADERA Kouichi Fujiwara Chiyoko was once a major movie star who dominated the Japanese cinema world. Thirty years ago, she abruptly disappeared from the screen and from public view. One of her greatest admirers, Tachibana Genya, a documentary filmmaker, has traveled to the isolated mountain lodge where she makes her home to interview her. He presents her with an old key that once meant everything to her, and as if that key had opened a door to her memories Chiyoko starts telling the story of her life, interweaving moments from her past and future and passing through the boundary between reality and the movies that had made up so much of her life, guiding the audience through a millennium of Japanese history. [Movie, 2001, 86 min] 1:28min Movie Trailer - YouTube Video

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Overall	Art	Animation	Character Design	Music	Series Story	Episode Story	Reviewer
Buy 4	10	9	9	8	10		Devil Doll	#
Sennen Joyu [Score: 92%, one of my top 3 Anime movies] Drama: Med (the story isn't easy to see for quite a while but the ending is strong) Comedy: None/Low (just the cameraman; looking back at a whole life makes you contemplative instead) Action: None/Low (but even so there are occasional suspense elements) SciFi: Low (plain old world, normal people, but certain surrealistic effects) Ecchi: None (the story is too good anyway) I didn't dare to write a review after I had watched this wonderful movie for the first time. But as I breathlessly followed the story even during the second pass my first impression has proven to be true. While I gave this movie excellent ratings in all categories there is one aspect standing out, and that's the way this movie is directed. This story of Chiyoko's life is told in a way that keeps you watching without noticing how the time passes; the sequence of scenes, seamlessly switching between reality and fantasy, is what stunned me most. I gave both Art and Series Story top ratings to express this. Everything else is great as well, be that the storyline development, the character interaction, the visualization and the animation. Even the music is good, just not as exceptional as the rest of this movie. I see no reason to limit the potential audience for this movie other than that younger kids might not understand the romance part of Chiyoko's life. The violence (from a couple of samurai fighting scenes in movies where Chiyoko was acting) is no problem, no blood & gore are shown. The drama aspects never go over the top - there's always the cameraman lightening up the mood whenever necessary. And Chiyoko's last line in this movie is a wonderful summary of the whole story, a great ending that so many other animes are failing to deliver. All in all a movie that no anime lover should miss, and my sincerest "buy" rating ever because of potentially high rewatchability. By the way I fully support NYCe Guy's excellent category selections. Last updated Tuesday, September 26 2006.
Buy 4	9	8	10	8	9		NYCe Guy	#
Sennen Joyu This is an absolutely magical story. I'm not going to give too much away, for that is part of the magic - the story has some nice surprises that a complete synopsis will only spoil. The way the film crew are drifting in and out of Chiyoko's past is never fully explained, but fully enchanting nonetheless. The ending is bittersweet, but brings closure to Chiyoko's life and provides satisfying closure for the viewer as well (something I'm told many anime stories lack, but hey, I could be wrong). Is it suitable for kids? Not the youngest kids, but there's no real nudity to speak of, and only minimal violence. It's definitely art-house material, and not as accessible to the masses - not to mention it's in subtitles only, with no dub track (which some will consider a plus I'm sure). Having said that, it could be an ideal "bridge" film for a teen who as a kid was weaned on dubbed anime to see what a well-made, intelligently-writte­n story can do in the anime form - the artsy side of anime. Anyone into love stories will be very touched. This movie makes me really interested in seeing Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue." Running time is 1:27, subtitled only (French or English), widescreen letterbox (1.78:1 anamorphic), Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1, MPAA-rated PG. Bonus features include an interview with Satoshi Kon, commentary by him, and the US theatrical trailer. Released theatrically in 2001, on region 1 DVD in 2003. Last updated Sunday, November 30 2003.

Other Sites

Name	URL
Millennium Actress Official Website	http://www.millenniumactress-themovie.com/
Official Website for the movie (requires Flash)