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 - Excellent MovieI almost didn't watch this movie at first - it was a little slow getting started and I had other things to do. I'm glad I waited though. It's more than a love story, it's a story of finding meaning in life. There was a nice balance of the humorous and sentimental. I've given this as a gift before and I really recommend it to others. Rating:  - A pleasant surpriseI was somewhat nervous about buying Millennium Actress without first seeing it. This was because I found Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue a bit "edgy". I was pleasantly surprised to find Millennium Actress a delightful film. It is entertaining, engaging and not at all disturbing. While the ending is not a classically happy one it does not leave you feeling sad or dissatisfied. A good buy for anyone who enjoys quality anime. Rating: - Praise for the ActressMillennium Actress is the first Satoshi Kon film that I've seen, and I have to say I was deeply impressed. If you, like me are picky about the Anime you watch I highly recommend this film. We meet Chioyoko Fujiwara(the actress) as an elderly woman and travel bakwards into her past as she gives an extreemly rare enterview to enamored journalist Genya Tachibana, who has also come to return to Chioyoko a most precious object. The viewer is submersed in Chioyoko's memories. we witness the chance meeting in her girlhood that would drive her future. We watch as she is "Discovered" and begins her career Hoping that as she travels from location to location she will be reunited with the mysterious stranger who has touched her heart, and return to him the treassured key that he left in her keeping. For Chioyoko acting is a means to an end, but the longing in her soul is relflected by the films she chooses. A career filled with haunting romantic dramas mix with her memories of unrequited love. It becomes clear that Chioyoko can no longer distinguish between the two. The ending is sad but touching and made all the more heart renching beause of the knowledge that Tachibana has carried for decades. I"ve heard this film called depressing. it's very sad that's true but as the credits rolled I found myself uplifed by the sheer beauty of this film. Rating: - Good intro to animeIf you are an anime fan, you will enjoy this movie, but may find it unremarkable. If you have never seen anime, or you have not found anime that you liked, this would be an excellent point of entry into the finer side. Creative and often downright stunning in its imagery, the movie opts to take a meta-meta-meta-drama approach. Okay, I just put in an arbitrary number of "metas" but the point is that the plots of different movies are constantly being woven and blended into the flashback sequence that covers the main story. You'll realize that, yes, it's partly surreal, but at the same time it is not too difficult to pick up on "what really happened." What it all comes down to is that it's hard to say why, but this is one of those profoundly Japanese animated films that really plays to the strengths of the medium while avoiding all the pitfalls that can turn off Westerners. Rating: - All the lives of Chiyoko-sanThis is a very touching movie and an elaborate journey through time. We don't really get to see Chiyoko's inner character that much, but we still end up liking her. The ending is sad, but fits perfectly with the rest of the story. The only problem is that anime newbies might have a problem with the complicated story. But one good thing about anime is that some of it makes you really think. This is one of those anime. I usually rate Hayao Miyazaki's movies high on my favorites list, but this is up there too with the rest of them. Highly recommended!
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