Satoshi Kon works take me somewhere wonderful. However, when it comes down to it, I don't have much to say about Millenium actress. That's because it's hard to talk about an anime that spells it out so simple and that wants to make you feel. Then there's all those who didn't enjoy it. We're all so different. Our life experiences influence what we like. I can't control it, and I can't blame them. Lately I've been looking at the flaws in all my favorites. It's put me in a bit of a crisis. This film gives me a feeling that no one else can. It's unique to Satoshi Kon. Every now and then I mourn his death. It pains me that he was taken so soon. With this film, he talked to his audience. He taught us to find the greatest thing there is for ourselves. That's why he didn't answer it in this film; the viewers should think about and realize it for themselves. He taught us that one who has reached the end goal only wavers. As a result, one who has only begun the journey is more exciting. There's all the mystery, wonder, and satisfaction of paving your way. As long as there is a tomorrow, the possibilities are endless, and there is hope. That's because it's spelled out so clearly: It's not about the end goal, it's about the journey. Ultimately, there is victory in defeat. Even for those who didn't reach their goal, they smiled in the end. They were still strong and inspiring to follow.

This is very interesting considering he died so young. I wonder if he looked at it that way in the end. Maybe his life was cut short, but his journey was one that will always be applauded and praised. I can't help but feel his pain when he cried about not being able to finish his last movie. There were so many things he wanted to do. So many things things left unfinished. This makes me pick up the pace.

It feels like the hardest there is to do is to criticize your favorites. And yet, I looked for it. I am thankful for the viewers who can be honest with themselves and tell me how they really feel. It makes me look more critically; more than I should be. I start to question my favorites. I look more for criticism, not praise.

In Millenium Actress, the key to the greatest thing there is was never meant to be for a lock or answered by the film; you must provide the answer for yourself. What the key is, is just the drive towards finding the love of accomplishing that greatest thing there is for you. To the painter, his art was his passion, and the key to his art supplies box locked inside painting, the greatest thing there was for him. It looked so simple, yet has a deep meaning when you find yours.

Millenium Actress became my key towards finding great anime during that period where I had almost stopped watching it all together. I would never had made it this far making anime analysis content if it wasn't for me watching this film, and the few others from that period during those earlier days where I had almost completely lost hope.

Chiyoko was in a dark place. Her future was tied between indecision. Suddenly, during a time of political upheaval, she bumped into a tall painter. She saw his kindness and that he was a revolutionary, wounded and bloodied. Once the authorities came, she decided to help him get away. Though he was a political activist with a target on his back, she took him in. During that night conversation under the moon, she felt moved by his poetic words. She fell in love. Love at first sight; it's so simple, naïve, yet moving.

He told her he admired more the moon that was less bright than the one that is full. That is because the full moon has already peaked, it can only diminish. The not so bright moon still has potential, and the thrill and beauty of it struggling to be more beautiful, and the hope in every tomorrow that brings for it to reach that goal felt greater to him. It's been said time and time before, it's not about the end; it's about the journey. Chiyoko, who never realized this, was won over. As foolishly naïve as she and Genya are, I loved their drive, and what it meant to her in the end. They lived to be alive. Even if they are wrong, I respect them. The painter, told us enough to know, he was sincere.

As Chiyoko listened with fascination, she began to feel inspired by how passionate this man was about his art and what drived him. He told her that once he gets home when peace returns, he'd paint in the snowy landscape, which felt like a faraway world to him, even if it hurt from the cold. She decided then and there to go with him, and they made a promise to see each other again since he had to leave soon to dodge the authorities.

Eventually he vanished, and left behind his key while escaping from the authorities. Chiyoko would keep it around her neck after finding it, and tried to find him during the chaos of the war. Chiyoko isn't a character so easily to relate to unless you ever really loved someone. She has the beauty of not just passion, but tragedy. She decided to take up acting, not because she cared about it. More so, she wanted him to see one of her films to lead him back to her. An amateur, she started off bad. Despite that, her strong emotions to find this man she fell in love with gave her the passion to deliver her lines beautifully. But her films' stories hit close to home. The real Chiyoko was at war with her fictional roles. She became famous in the process. Still, the only audience she was looking for was just one man. As long as she kept the key and the memories, she'd keep trying to find him. There is a loneliness to her despite her grandiose career. You could say she was wrong, but she lived so passionately it deserves respect.

Eventually, a ghost appeared. It haunted her by telling her throughout her career that she has been cursed by an endless pursuit of love that will burn her up. The ghost tells her that she hates her and loves her both more than she can bear. No matter how much Chiyoko ran after him and made progress, the ghost laughed in the shadows behind her, telling her that she can't escape the curses' fate. It even told her that those who are alive who don't manage to meet up get to do so in the afterlife, which frightened her. The ghost, was a manifestation of her future self. Her doubt that she would not dare tell anyone else. A shameless manifestation of misery.

This films feels like I was watching a dream. The dream of an old actress who's memories have become so hazy that they have blended not just with the story of her love interest, but with the movies of her career as she struggled to tell her life story through the film for a documentary on her life. This is Satoshi Kon's specialty. The brilliance and surrealism in his edits, the blending of fantasy and reality that has so much wonder and mystery it goes over the viewers' comprehensions. Then there's the film crew in the movie. A camera man who thinks what the viewers think out loud, and provides humor for balance. On the other hand, there is Genya. He feels like Chiyoko's most loyal follower, a humble man who also loved her more than he could bear.

What a shame that such talent was taken so early from this world. Kon had a way with invoking the exact feeling I look for in anime. It pains me that his next film, which was supposed to be Dreaming Machine, will probably never be finished, because he is just outright irreplaceable, and the staff left behind can't find someone with his talent to direct and finish it.

The type of feeling that Millennium Actress brings is one that folds knots all over the inside of your heart. The ending throws a curveball at you and tells you that there is hope in the end. Whether or not you reach your goal, the lifetime you spent chasing it, the progress and hope you gained along the way, the accomplishments, were what really mattered.

Every time I begin to forget this film, I watch it again, learn something new from it, and enjoy it even more. I'll never stop talking about it. Some people say that all that could be said about an anime has been said, that the discussion is over. That couldn't be farther from the truth. There will always be people with new interpretations. In fact, the more I watch this film, the better I can talk about it the next time. That's why I can appreciate those that try to review older anime. Those that pump out endless seasonal reviews usually make them all bland because they only saw them once and weekly without notes or meaningful thought.

Last and certainly not least, this film was blessed with the music of Susumu Hirasawa. The soundtrack can toss you around with sadness, terrifying uncertainty, suspense, and bittersweet wonder.

Afterwards, Millennium Actress still asks the question to it's viewers in the end: What is the greatest thing there is to you? You're crying, but it only makes you see things more clearly. Seize the moment, and realize your potential. As long as there is a tomorrow, there is hope. This was the hardest review for me to write. Hopefully, you can gained something from it.

Thank you for reading.