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BY LINCOLN GASKING |
The romantic memories of an aging, reclusive actress flood back as
she is visited by a documentarian recording her life.
EXPECTATIONS
What I'd Seen
A few brochures and some clips from a trailer. In other words: precious
little.
What I'd Heard
While at the San Diego Comic Con, many were enamored with the film,
some naming it among the best films they'd ever seen. This was
more than enough to pique my interest.
What I Wanted
I wanted a thoughtful anime character study similar to my first-ever
anime film experience, Hayao Miyazaki's 1992 film, "Porco
Rosso". That film had a surprisingly lush, romantic escapist feel,
and I wanted more of the same here.
EXPERIENCE
What Turned Me On
The film saved the best for last -- it sprinted across the finish
line with one of the best examples of the true power of context. Without
spoiling the film, the beginning of "Millennium Actress" has
the protagonist in the middle of a scene from one of her films. The audience
has no contextual background for the scene, and takes it at face value:
simply as a technique to introduce us to the actress in her prime. The
same situation is used a total of three times throughout the film, and
each time the emotional resonance rises exponentially until the viewer
is unexpectedly floored at the end of the film with the majestic beauty
of the very same original footage. Brilliant filmmaking.
What Turned Me Off
Act 2. When our Millennium Actress heads to deepest Manchuria on a wild
goose chase, so does the film. Told through the memories of the actress
as she retells her life story to two documentarians, we are transported
to each period of her life as she chases her True Love across the Orient.
The two filmmakers come along for the ride in the vein of "A Christmas
Carol", inserted into scenes throughout the story. The action sways
between reality and fantasy to the point of boredom as the story makes
seemingly meaningless twists and turns. It probably takes fifteen minutes
too long to get to its fantastic conclusion, though it must be stressed:
the ending more than makes up for the wayward journey.
Lines Worth Repeating: If only I knew my Japanese.
The single line of English in the film is in my favorite sequence, and
repeated twice: "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, ignition, 2, 1, 0." You'll
probably be repeating the scene in your head later, too.
Never Saw That Before: The use of a present-day cynical
cameraman sidekick who enters scenes he never existed in, gives (at times)
great comic relief and allows the filmmakers to get away with more than
they would have, sometimes just with a funny expression.
Fidget Factor: There is a thirty minute stretch in
the middle of the film that makes you wish you had PacMan on your cellphone.
Then, like a freeway that transforms from traffic jam to open road in
the space of a few seconds -- the film drops down a gear and zooms
to a gravity-defying finish.
AFTERMATH
I left saying..."Wow, I can't believe how
powerful that ending was."
Expiration Date -- It's no "Porco
Rosso", but "Millennium Actress" will be a staple of
many an anime enthusiast's collection. I'm still thinking
about the ending over a week later.
When it comes out on DVD, grab it, skip a few sequences
in the middle when Ms. Chiyoko hits the train for Manchuria, and return
when she loses her ring. Prepare to be blown away.
GRADE: B |
