Sennen joyû (2001)

Director:

Satoshi Kon

Writers:

Satoshi Kon (writer)
Sadayuki Murai (writer)

Release Date:

14 September 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A movie studio is being torn down. TV interviewer Genya Tachibana has tracked down its most famous star...

Plot Keywords:

Key | Actress | Cameraman | Meiji Period | Director Actor Relationship

Awards:

4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Miyoko Shôji	...	Chiyoko Fujiwara (70's) (voice)
Mami Koyama	...	Chiyoko Fujiwara (20-40's) (voice)
Fumiko Orikasa	...	Chiyoko Fujiwara (10-20's) (voice)
Shôzô Îzuka	...	Genya Tachibana (voice)
Shouko Tsuda	...	Eiko Shimao (voice)
Hirotaka Suzuoki	...	Junichi Ootaki (voice)
Hisako Kyôda	...	Mother (voice)
Kan Tokumaru	...	Senior Manager of Ginei (voice)
Tomie Kataoka	...	Mino (voice)
Masamichi Sato	...	Young Genya (voice)
Masaya Onosaka	...	Kyoji Ida (voice)
Masane Tsukayama	...	The Man with the Scar (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	The Man of the Key (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stephen Bent	...	Junichi Otaki (voice: English version)
Matt Devereaux	...	The Man with the Scar (voice: English version)
Felicity Duncan Smith	...	Mother (voice: English version) (as Felicity Duncan)
Takkô Ishimori	...	Head Clerk (voice)
Jo Lee	...	Eiko Shimao (voice: English version)
Stuart Milligan	...	Kyoji Ida (voice: English version)
Regina Reagan	...	Chiyoko (Manga Entertainment 2005) (voice: English version)
Samantha Shaw	...	Mino (voice: English version)
John Vernon	...	Genya Tachibana / Senior Manager of Ginei (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Millennium Actress (International: English title) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, violence and brief mild language.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Japan | South Korea

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:All | USA:PG | Canada:G | Singapore:PG

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The film indicates that she has been linked to earthquakes: she was born during the Great Kanto Earthquake, so her birth date is September 1, 1923; She gave up her career after another great earthquake, perhaps based on the Niigata earthquake (occurred on June 16, 1964), and Chiyoko dies during another earthquake: The Western Honshu earthquake (occurred on October 6, 2000).

Goofs:

Continuity: The length of the key changes several times.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Chiyoko Fujiwara: The part I really loved, was chasing him.

Movie Connections:

References Yojimbo (1961)

a fight for love at its best

Genya Tachibana is a TV documentary maker and has tracked down his favourite actress; Chiyoko Fujiwara. On interviewing her Genya presents her with an object she had lost long ago; a key. From there we are transported through time and see Chyoko story about lost love and her struggle to find it. The key belonged to a man she meet when she was young. He was a rebel on the run and Chiyoko gave him shelter. He gave her the key as a thank-you. When he disappears she sets out to find this man. Still young, Chiyoko is approached by a film maker to star in his new film; she accepts and sees this as a chance to find mysterious man. She become a huge success, but she is always empty, never finding the man she loves.

Satoshi Kon has created a wonderful film about the lose of love and the extraordinary lengths one woman will go to find it. What makes this an interesting watch is that when we go into Chiyoko's past, Genya and his camera man also walk around in her past; interacting with people. But its just not a trek through her past, her memories meld with the movies she has made; as the movies parallel her life on her journey of finding her love, but also time in history. The scenes we see are from the movies she has made, but the story is her own life; her reality and her imagination have just crashed into one another.

The animation here is just visually amazing. Satoshi Kon's character designs are so unique they set themselves apart from another animations. All the backgrounds are so detailed and textured. What i find great is that Satoshi Kon adds that tiny bit of surrealism; adding more dimension and thought, here its how Chiyoko's memories meld into the movies she's starred in. Satoshi's script is so deep and full of angst. Its hard to watch this woman on her quest for love always failing; yet she blindly keeps going no matter what.

At great movie about the journey of love and how its never ending; in this world and the next.