Millennium Actress

Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' is probably the best known Japanese cartoon movie and I have to say it's is just fantastic. Maybe I will review that movie some other day. But another Japanese cartoon movie is less known: Millennium actress, directed by Satoshi Kon. Does this mean that it wasn't a very good movie?Well my answer can be short can clear; no!It is really worthy to watch this one. Not only because of the beautifull drawings but the story is great too. A movie director is going to make a documentary about the life of a famous Japanese actress (Chiyoko). He also wants to give her somtething she almost forgotten about, a famous key. Now the story/interview starts. It's starts with a young Chiyoko who accidently meets a man, a mysterious Manchurian artist, who gives Chiyoko a key. Chiyoko wants to know what this key is for but the only answer she gets is 'it's the key of the most important thing in the world'. The man is a fugitive and leaves suddenly. From that moment on it's Chiyoko's task to return the key to it's owner and discover it's true meaning.But.... the story isn't this simple. The story is also about a famous actrice who plays in many movies. While she plays in all those movies we see 1000 years of history of Japan at the same time. What is real and what is not...it's not imporant in this movie. It's called a trompe L'oeil, a French word for 'to fool the eye'. There is not a clear storyline but different storylines which are running through eachother with no beginning or end. You can't distinguish reality from fiction and present from the past, it's all blurring together.It probably sounds like a weird movie but don't be afraid to watch it. Prepare yourself to watch something stunning. It's a complex, smart and breathtaking journey through time, a journey through Japanese cinema, a journey to find the one you love, a journey to discover what it's all about.