Millennium Actress (2001) Sennen joyû (original title)

Director:

Satoshi Kon

Writers:

Satoshi Kon
Sadayuki Murai

Release Date:

14 September 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A TV interviewer and his cameraman meet a former actress and travel through her memories and career.

Plot Keywords:

Key | Cameraman | Actress | Bombing Of Tokyo | Film Making

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 Iizuka	...	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 Satô	...	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)

Directed by
Satoshi Kon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Satoshi Kon
Sadayuki Murai

Produced by
Taro Maki	....	producer

Original Music by
Susumu Hirasawa

Cinematography by
Hisao Shirai

Film Editing by
Satoshi Terauchi

Art Direction by
Nobutaka Ike

Art Department
Kazunori Hashimoto	....	color designer
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	art supervisor
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	art supervisor
Yasumitsu Suetaka	....	co-art director

Sound Department
Masafumi Mima	....	sound director

Special Effects by
Sachi Suzuki	....	special effects (as Sachiko Suzuki)
Kumiko Taniguchi	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Lee Seok Bum	....	digital compositor: DR Movie
Hitoshi Haga	....	digital compositor
Kim Tae Hyun	....	digital compositor: DR Movie
Yuriko Kadomoto	....	digital compositor
Kou Matsuo	....	digital compositor
Jin-yee Park	....	digital compositor: DR Movie

Camera and Electrical Department
Masafumi Awakura	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Koichi Gonda	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Kanae Haijima	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Takafumi Hirata	....	assistant director of photography
Toshikazu Hisano	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Kumiko Idei	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Kasuki Iida	....	animation camera operator: Anime Room
Motoaki Ikegami	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Shinji Ikegami	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Keisuke Kamata	....	animation camera operator: Anime Room
Takao Kawahara	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Katsunori Maehara	....	assistant director of photography
Etsushi Masuda	....	animation camera operator: Anime Room
Yumiko Morimoto	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Tomohiro Nishiyama	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Hiroshi Noguchi	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Yuko Orikasa	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Tetsuo Otou	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Takashi Shimada	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Hiroki Shiozuka	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Kasumi Takarada	....	animation camera operator: Anime Room
Masato Tamura	....	animation camera operator: Anime Room
Yuki Toyonaga	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Kazunori Yamaguchi	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos
Shouji Yazawa	....	animation camera operator: Studio Cosmos

Animation Department
Junko Abe	....	key animator
Ko Kun Ae	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Her Me Ah	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Mi Kyoung An	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as An Mi Kyoung)
Koichi Arai	....	key animator
Yu-mi Chae	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Chae Yu Mi)
Hyun Mi Cho	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Cho Hyun Mi)
Hee Eun Choi	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Choi Hee Eun)
Soon Yeol Choi	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Choi Soon Youl)
Yun Hee Choi	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Choi Yun Hee)
Kyung-Ai Chung	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Choun Kyoung Ai)
Pek Eun Ea	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Masahiro Emoto	....	key animator
Yui Enomoto	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Shôgo Furuya	....	animation director
Shôgo Furuya	....	key animator
Jin Chang Gun	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Myeong-yeon Ha	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Ha Myeoung Yeon)
Hitoshi Haga	....	key animator
Hideki Hamazu	....	animation director (as Hideki Hamasu)
Hideki Hamazu	....	key animator (as Hideki Hamasu)
Young-suk Hea	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Choi Soon Hee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Jeon Sun Hee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Lee Yeun Hee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Lee Yeuh Hee)
Hye-jung Her	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Takeshi Honda	....	animation director
Takeshi Honda	....	character designer
Eun Jin Hong	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Takafumi Hori	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Yoshinori Horikawa	....	ink and paint checker
Hiroyuki Horiuchi	....	key animator
Soon-a Hwang	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Yoon Jung Hye	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Eun Hyun	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania
Kwak Hyun	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Kei Ichikura	....	background artist
Chieko Ichimanda	....	animation checker
Keiko Iimori	....	inbetween animator: Mad House (as Keiko Imori)
Hisashi Ikeda	....	background artist
Junko Ina	....	background artist
Kaoru Inoda	....	background artist
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	animation director
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	key animator
Tatsuhiro Itano	....	key animator
Yoon Suk Jae	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Cheol-Ho Jang	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Jang Cheor Ho)
Hyun-sik Jang	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Jang Hyun Sik)
Nam-ok Jang	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Jang Nam Ohuk)
Joung Hee Jean	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Youn Hee Jeong	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Jeoung Youn Hee)
Eun-suk Jeoung	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Jeoung Eun Suk)
Lee Jin	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania
Young-rae Jo	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Hyun Ju Jun	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Jung Hyun Ju)
Jung-Suk Jun	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Jun Joung Suk)
Choi Ki Jung	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Lee Eun Jung	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Sung Hee Jung	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Jung Sung Hee)
You Kyung Jung	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Yuriko Kadomoto	....	ink and paint checker
Masatoshi Kai	....	background artist
Chikako Kamata	....	ink and paint checker
Young Suk Kang	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Kang Young Sook)
Nao Karino	....	background artist
Kumiko Kawana	....	key animator
Toshihiro Kikuchi	....	key animator
Chun-soo Kim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Kim Chun Soo)
Eun Young Kim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Kim Eun Young)
Hwa Soon Kim	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Kim Hwa Soon)
Hye-Jung Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Hyun Hee Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Hyun-jung Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Jung Eun Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Kim Jung Eun)
Jung-a Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Kim Jun-a)
Keun-hwa Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Soo-jin Kim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Kim Soo Jin)
Su-jaung Kim	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Kim Su Jaung)
Young-mi Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Young-yae Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Yu Mi Kim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Kim Yu Mi)
Hirotaka Kinoshita	....	key animator
Shigeyo Kiriyama	....	background artist
Satoshi Kon	....	character designer
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	animation director
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	key animator
Akiko Konno	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Yumi Koshikawa	....	ink and paint checker
Masahiko Kubo	....	key animator
Tetsuya Kumagai	....	key animator
Masahiro Kurio	....	key animator
Bok Kyoung Kwon	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Kwon Bok Kyoung)
Hyun Soon Kwon	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Suk-o Kwon	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Kwon-o Sunk)
Tae Ok Kwon	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Kwon Tae Ok)
Cho-hee Kyung	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Dong-Wook Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Dong Wook)
Ha-youn Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Hae-kyung Lee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Lee Hae Kyung)
Hye Sung Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Hye Sung)
Hyo Sun Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Hyo Sun)
Hyun Sook Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Hyun Suk)
Jae-min Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Jae Min)
Jung Eun Lee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Lee Jung Eun)
Mi Ok Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Mi Ok)
Nam Hee Lee	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Lee Nam Hee)
Sook-hee Lee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Suk-hoon Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Suck Hoon)
Sul Young Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Suel Young)
An-myoung Lim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as An Myoung Lim)
Hyo-kyoung Lim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lim Hyo Kyoung)
Jeung-a Lim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Joung-mi Lim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Michio Mihara	....	key animator
Yasunori Miyazawa	....	key animator
Sung Ho Moon	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Moon Sung Ho)
Minoru Murao	....	key animator
Mitsunori Murata	....	key animator
Kana Nakayama	....	ink and paint checker
Katsuichi Nakayama	....	key animator
Takahito Nakazawa	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Jae Ho Nam	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Tetsuya Nishio	....	key animator
Su-im Oh	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Oh Su Im)
Masako Okada	....	background artist
Yoshiko Okuda	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Harue Ono	....	ink and paint checker
Kiyomi Ota	....	background artist
Shinji Otsuka	....	key animator
Hea-roung Park	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania
Jun Hee Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Park Jung Hee)
Kae-ryun Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Park Gae Ryun)
Mee-ok Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Oak In Park	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Park Ohuk In)
Youn-joung Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Young Shin Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Park Young Sin)
Eun Me Pyun	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Pyun Eun Me)
Choi Hey Ran	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Seo Saeng-Hoe	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Seo Saeng Hoe)
Kum Sook Seo	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Seo Kum Sook)
Song-hee Seo	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Seo Sung Hee)
Yasuhiro Seo	....	key animator
Hiroshi Shimizu	....	key animator
Eun-kyung Shin	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Shin Eun Kyung)
Hye Mi Shin	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Shin Hye Mi)
Hyun Ju Song	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Song Hyun Ju)
Yuuko Sugiyama	....	background artist
Kim Mi Suk	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Michiyo Suzuki	....	key animator
Yuuka Suzuki	....	ink and paint checker (as Yuka Suzuki)
Masaharu Tada	....	key animator
Jun Takagi	....	key animator
Shinichi Uehara	....	background artist
Ichiro Uno	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Aiko Wakatsuki	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Kenichi Watanabe	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Sakiko Watanabe	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Song-sik Woo	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Woo Song Sik)
Tomoko Yamamoto	....	ink and paint checker
Yuko Yazaki	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
In-suk Yoo	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Yoo In Sook)
Masaki Yoshizaki	....	background artist
Hye-seon Youn	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Youn Hye Seon)
Myung Hee Youn	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Youn Myung Hee)
Yoshimitsu Ôhashi	....	key animator

Editorial Department
Yuriko Ito	....	negative cutter
Kashiko Kimura	....	negative cutter
Yurika Tsuchiya	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Itaru Fujimoto	....	production committee: The Klockworx Co. Ltd.
Yohei Haraguchi	....	advertisement
Hiroshi Hashimoto	....	advertisement
Yumi Iwashita	....	advertisement
Masaki Kaifu	....	production committee: WOWOW Inc.
Kazumi Kawashiro	....	production committee: Bandai Visual Co., Ltd.
Satoshi Kon	....	original concept by
Satoshi Kubo	....	production committee: Bandai Visual Co., Ltd.
Taro Maki	....	production committee: Genco Inc.
Masao Maruyama	....	planning director
Nobuhiro Osawa	....	advertisement
Nobuhiko Sakoh	....	production committee: The Klockworx Co. Ltd.
Naoki Sato	....	advertisement
Michiko Suzuki	....	production committee: WOWOW Inc.
Seiji Suzuki	....	advertisement
Kyoko Yamashita	....	title designer
Takeshi Yasuda	....	production committee: Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd.

Thanks
Masahiro Kiba	....	special thanks
Mari Oishi	....	special thanks
Satoko Yoshida	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Chiyoko Commitee
• Genco
• Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.
• Mad House (animation)
• WoWow

Distributors

• Bio Rex Distribution (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2002) (Japan) (theatrical)
• DreamWorks Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Go Fish Pictures (2003) (USA) (subtitled)
• Manga Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2012) (Japan) (TV)
• Rai4 (2009) (Italy) (TV)
• Selecta Vision (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• DR Movie  in-between animation
• DR Movie  ink and paint support studio
• Kyungkang Animation  ink and paint support studio (as Kyung Kang Ania)
• Maki Productions  titles (as Maki Production)
• SHAFT  in-between animation support studio

Also Known As:

"Sennen joyû" - Japan (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, violence and brief mild language

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

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

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The character of Chiyoko herself is somewhat reminiscent of Setsuko Hara, a famed Japanese movie star of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, who likewise withdrew suddenly from public life. Satoshi Kon has recognized this influence in an interview, also citing Hideko Takamine, but insisting that Chiyoko is primarily a universal human character.

Goofs:

Continuity: The length of the key changes several times.

Quotes:

Genya Tachibana:[a big truck stops in front of Chiyoko, Genya appears dressed and acting like a 60's truck driver] Hey miss, Don't you look when you walk around here?... Come in!
Kyoji Ida:This role of savior makes you happy, huh?

Movie Connections:

References Yojimbo (1961)

Excellent blending of reality and illusion

The life story of an actress told to reporters that blurs the line between reality and fantasy as the movies she made become he life and vice versa.

A wonderful continuation of of the ideas in the brilliant thriller Perfect Blue, we once again have our perceptions turned upside down and sideways. Who is telling the truth, or more importantly is it even possible to know when all we are anyway is a half remembered collection of memories, are notions thrown at us and left for us to determine on our own. This is a film that probably could never have worked as a live action film simply because the changes between reality, memory and movie could never be as seamless as they are here.

This is a movie for grown ups and very clearly shows why those who think animated films are only for kids is missing out.