Weekly Review: Millennium Actress anime

Only the second week and already I almost dropped the ball! I was on my way to bed when I realized the date; I hadn't given the subject much thought, so I am just going to pick the last anime I've seen: Millennium Actress (a.k.a., Sennen Joyū). Millennium Actress is an animated movie directed by Satoshi Kon, whose made a name for himself through his other anime films (Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika) and the anime series Paranoia Agent. All of these projects have received great critical appraisal with the exception of Paranoia Agent, which started off well but (IMHO) unraveled about halfway through due to a shallow underlying plot and its inability to develop character due to its own self-imposed format. But that's a tangent for another day...

MA is a story about a reculse former-actress who comes out of hiding to tell her life story for a documentary. In her retelling, she begins to "act out" her experiences for the two-man film crew, and the viewer (as well as the crew, for comedic relief) begin to see the retelling as a sort of "live" flashback. Kon compounds this effect by cleverly making her real life parallel some of the plots she's acted out in movies, though, and the two are blended together for the movie in such a way that the viewer is often left guessing as to which elements of the flashbacks are from her work and which are from her real life. It's a very similar surreal experience similar to that of Perfect Blue and Paprika. However, unlike the latter two movies, the former doesn't have the level of violence or life-threatening urgency. MA is a very peaceful (although still eventful and dramatic) watch.

I would highly recommend this one, especially to anyone who enjoys a more sophisticate tone. I can't really think of anything negative to say about it, other than perhaps that it requires undivided attention to enjoy (because of the details in the story) and that it lacks the action and violence some people expect from anime (no giant robots!).

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering: the sworeness from the paint ball experience has gone away for the most part. However, my bicep now looks someone held it up to a belt sander. It's funny sometimes how the body parts that hurt the most look fine and the parts that barely hurt look like they need a trip to the ER.