sailorsquid

[sailorsquid]

Watched Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress for the first time and now I finally know where this image I see all the time is from. Spoilers to follow

thoughts about the movie:

Lots to consider about how it seemed that each of Fujiwara’s roles mimicked her real life of always chasing after a man whether he’s literal (in the movies she acted in) or more of a concept (her reality). Is there something there about the roles women are given? Always has to connect back to a man? Idk

The director and cameraman in the flashback scenes helped ground me as a viewer and was a fun framing device. Especially when it escalated to Tachibana joining the fray as a character in her recollections of the movies, which was worked in really well with the two of them actually acting out the scenes and then as we approached the end where we learned he not only protected Fujiwara once in real life during an earthquake but a second time as well.

Also earthquakes were always shaking up her life too. He birth, leaving the acting world, death. Not only the earthquakes though but also the key, for much of her early life the key was her driving force and then when she first lost it she resigned herself to accepting the director as a husband until finding it again where she left everything behind to chase down the man that was only just a faint memory and more of a concept to her at this point. To losing the key again during the earthquake in the studio incident where she left her acting career behind and resigned once again to a quiet life. Only to once again chase after him, this time into the afterlife, when she was returned the key.

At the midpoint of the movie I was getting worried it would all just be about losing the 1 thing you’re chasing after your whole life and never getting it and how you react when that happens, but I was happy that was not where it went. She clearly enjoyed recounting all her memories and her time as an actress. And as she said at the end what she enjoyed was the pursuit of him. There may be a driving end goal motivating or pushing someone but you have to be able to find the meaning in the pursuit and enjoy what’s there because the end is just that the end, only a moment. The pursuit is a collection of many moments, the scenes in a movie vs the black screen at the end. And then of course just like Fujiwara there’s the chance you never get what you were pursuing and could miss everything along the way.

Wait also did they release the documentary bc that was all footage of her like the day she passed away? Is there an ethics issue there? Did they feel uncomfortable about that at all or? Just a thought

Some rough thoughts, great movie, definitely want to revisit

[sailorsquid]

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