Sennen joyû (2001)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

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 | Candy Store | Real Movie Shown In Fictional Situation

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)

Directed by
Satoshi Kon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Satoshi Kon		writer
Sadayuki Murai		writer

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
Park Jin Yee	....	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
Chung Kyung Ai	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Choun Kyoung Ai)
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)
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
Hitoshi Haga	....	key animator
Hideki Hamazu	....	animation director (as Hideki Hamasu)
Hideki Hamazu	....	key animator (as Hideki Hamasu)
Myeong-yeon Ha	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Ha Myeoung Yeon)
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
Kim Hyun Hee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Lee Yeun Hee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Lee Yeuh Hee)
Park Jun Hee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Park Jung Hee)
Hye-jung Her	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Nam Jae Ho	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Takeshi Honda	....	animation director
Takeshi Honda	....	character designer
Yoshinori Horikawa	....	ink and paint checker
Takafumi Hori	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Hiroyuki Horiuchi	....	key animator
Yoon Jung Hye	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Eun Hyun	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania
Kwak Hyun	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Takashi 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
Cheo 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)
Hong-eun Jin	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Kim Soo Jin	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Lee Jin	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania
Young-rae Jo	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Choi Ki Jung	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Kim Hyun 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
Hyun Ju Jun	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Jung Hyun Ju)
Jung-Suk Jun	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Jun Joung Suk)
Yuriko Kadomoto	....	ink and paint checker
Park Kae-Ryun	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Park Gae Ryun)
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
Jung-a Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Kim Jun-a)
Jung Eun Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Kim Jung Eun)
Keun-hwa Kim	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
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
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	animation director
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	key animator
Akiko Konno	....	inbetween animator: Mad House
Satoshi Kon	....	character designer
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)
Hae-kyung Lee	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Lee Hae Kyung)
Ha-youn Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Hye Sung Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Hye Sung)
Hyo Sun Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Hyo Sun)
Hyun Sik 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
Tetsuya Nishio	....	key animator
Yoshimitsu Ôhashi	....	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
Mee-ok Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
Ock In Park	....	ink and paint artist: Kyung Kang Ania (as Park Ohuk In)
Young Shin Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie (as Park Young Sin)
Youn-joung Park	....	ink and paint artist: DR Movie
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)
Hwang Soon-a	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Yuko 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 Yasaki	....	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)

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)
• DreamWorks Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Go Fish Pictures (2003) (USA) (subtitled)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2002) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Manga Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• 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:

Millennium Actress (International: English title) (USA)
Millennium Actress (Poland) [pl]

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:

Commercially, the film performed modestly on its US release, earning $37,285 during its 3 week release. The film was shown almost exclusively in New York and Los Angeles, and received a minimal advertising campaign from Go Fish Pictures.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In the Chiyoko's home, two cameras are used, but there is only one camera operator.

Quotes:

Genya Tachibana: [Dressed and acting like a wandering medieval samurai] I always think that I would die for the woman I love.
Kyoji Ida: Maybe I will shoot him

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Paprika (2006)

more originality, life, individuality, and heart than in many movies being made in Hollywood

Chiyoko Fujiwara: even her names evokes 1,000 years of Japanese history beginning with the Fujiwara clan who dominated Japan a millennium ago as she dominated Japanese movies. The story begins with an elderly actress who recounts her life and career to a Quixotically worshipful producer and his Sancho Panza-like cameraman. Film juxtaposes with reality; and the triumphs and tragedies of one actress meld into those of Japan itself; objectivity and fantasy mock each other and dance with one another. At one moment the cameraman is making a pungent comment about cornball emotions, and the next moment he is dodging burning arrows from one of her movies. Perhaps, Chiyoko really is a woman cursed or perhaps blessed to endure 1,000 years of unrequited love. Perhaps the mysterious "human-rights activist" that she pursues through the centuries, and through one movie after another, represents an ever-receding ideal of love, truth, and human dignity that is yearned for by individuals and nations alike. They met just briefly, he gave her the key to "the most important thing in the world," and Chiyoko and the film characters she plays spend the next 1,000 years and the rest of her film career and the rest of her life trying to return it.

"Millennium Actress" and the techniques of animation were made for each other. Live-action could not possibly have created this stunning plunge though the centuries nearly as well, nor have depicted the transformation of a beautiful young women into a beautiful old woman. So-called live-action movies would have buried a live actress under layers of Yoda-like plastic to achieve the same effect.

Presumably you will be watching this on DVD; after you have watched this movie through once or twice, go back and select scene 12 and just watch that: it begins with an apprentice Geisha, (as played by Chiyoko), risking everything to pursue the human-rights activist (in this generation he is a rebel Samurai.) A merciless Javert-like pursuer barges in to ruin everything, but a Quixotic stranger rescues her for sake of idealistic love and sets her free to ride through the land of Japan to continue her search. She rides through Hokusai landscapes and through the battles of 19th-Century Japan. She continues undaunted even though the wheel of her curse keeps turning and is symbolized by increasingly modern modes of transportation: carriages, trains, bicycles; the splendor and tragedy of Japanese history whizzes by and still her journey continues. Her eternal quest for freedom turns into a freedom in itself, and -- by the way -- the medium of animation gives a mighty leap from the Saturday-morning ghetto to which American imaginations has confined it and shows off freedoms that live-action could never do as well.

This movie is action-filled but never manic; emotional but never overwrought; thought-provoking but never airy. The unpleasant little word Surrealism comes to mind -- it's unpleasant because it often evokes elitism, self-indulgence, and confusion. But "Millennium Actress" is never neurotic, never smug, and always invites the audience to join in the fun of mixing up film, memory, history, and desire, in surprising ways. There are enough delightful coincidences and plot twists to entrance an admirer of Shakespeare or Dickens. The musical score is excellent. The quality of animation is excellent, and these characters have more originality, life, individuality, and heart than in many movies being made in Hollywood.

After you have checked this out, look into Satoshi Kon's most recent movie "Tokyo Godfathers." Then investigate the movies of Hayao Miyazaki, who is the world's greatest maker of animated films, and also Miyazaki's fellow geniuses of Studio Ghibli. 9/10