Post by klep on Sept 30, 2019 7:40:32 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 9/30: Millennium Actress
ANIMATION WEEK!
One of the hallmarks of Satoshi Kon's work is the blurring of the real and unreal. He loved to play with the freedom the medium provided him to move freely between the two, erasing their distinctions. In Millennium Actress, he pushed this about as far as he could, mixing together the performances and life of an actress to explore what drove her - both what made her an actor and what made her abruptly stop.
The film signals its intentions right at the beginning. We start with a woman getting into a spaceship, about to chase after someone despite the pleas of a colleague on the gantry trying to tell her he loves her. The camera pulls out, and we realize we're watching someone watching a film. As ignition begins, the screen starts to shake with the vibration - only it's not from the film, it's an actual earthquake.
The man, Genya Tachibana (Shōzō Iizuka and Masamichi Satō at different ages) is leaving to interview an elderly actress and personal hero of his in conjunction with the studio she spent her career at closing its doors. Chiyoko Fujiwara (Miyoko Shōji, Mami Koyama, and Fumiko Orikasa at different ages) has been a hermit for 30 years, and Genya feels privileged to be granted his request for an interview.
But when he presents her with a gift - a key she lost at the studio that was precious to her - it starts us on a journey through her life and career as she ruminates on what it meant to her. The key was left behind by an anti-war agitator pursued by police during the invasion and occupation of Manchuria. Chiyoko fell in love with him as a young girl while she hid him from authorities, and became an actress in hopes of pursuing him to Manchuria and returning the key.
Millennium Actress tells Chiyoko's story through the prism of her career, flitting into and out of and between her roles with no warning, and it can often be hard to tell what's real and what's part of a role. All of her roles seem to involve the same core idea - a woman chasing after the man she loves, and never quite reaching him. Through her entire life she held onto this idea that the man she hid in her shed was out there waiting for her to find him, and it was so strong that it shaped everything she did. Her career was a way to search for him - to put her image out there and hope he would see her.
We watch Chiyoko grow on screen and in life from a young girl to a middle-aged woman, always searching. She spends some time married, but all based on the lie that she had lost the key (which her husband had arranged to be stolen to clear his path). After an earthquake strikes while filming the rocket launch scene, she realizes she's no longer the girl she was - her beloved could not recognize her. It's a realization that leads her to quit acting and seclude herself away.
The strain of the day - the earthquakes, the memories, and the way they're echoing from the past to the present proves too great a strain for the elderly Chiyoko. It seems like the story will end on a tragic or at least melancholy note - Genya reveals to his partner en route to the hospital that he learned Chiyoko's beloved died in police custody back in the 30s. But as she passes, looking forward to finally catching up to her beloved, we are returned to Chiyoko in her spaceship. As she's about to enter hyperspace, her final line is "After all, it's the chasing after him I really love."
It's a line that reframes the story we've seen. We've been imagining that Chiyoko's life was tragic and lonely, filled with a desperate longing for something always out of reach. That her being able to finally meet up with her beloved in death provided an at best melancholy ending. We missed that the chase itself was something fulfilling.
Satoshi Kon reminds us that a person can't be fully understood through the prism of a single object or a single moment. Our lives are more complex than that. We thought we were watching a tragic story of love lost, but in expertly guiding us through Chiyoko's career and life, Kon was reminding us that she also had incredible experiences and adventures.
Look at what Chiyoko's chase brought her - she saw places she never thought she'd see, met people she never thought she'd meet. Gained fame and fortune and even while secluded for the back half of her life had a select group of friends who would visit - she was never lonely. While her specific goal was never reached she still lived the life she wanted in pursuit of it, and that's worth celebrating.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/7: Schindler's List
JUST ONE PERSON WEEK!
For Just One Person Week we'll be covering Schindler's List, Stephen Spielberg's Best Picture-winning biopic about Oskar Schindler's efforts to save the lives of his Jewish workers during the height of the Holocaust. Join us next week for our discussion of this film, available on Netflix and for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/1: Hustlers
The current pairing concludes with Lorene Scafaria's film on women just trying to make a living, Hustlers. Join us Wednesday for our discussion! Hustlers is still in theaters.
ANIMATION WEEK!
One of the hallmarks of Satoshi Kon's work is the blurring of the real and unreal. He loved to play with the freedom the medium provided him to move freely between the two, erasing their distinctions. In Millennium Actress, he pushed this about as far as he could, mixing together the performances and life of an actress to explore what drove her - both what made her an actor and what made her abruptly stop.
The film signals its intentions right at the beginning. We start with a woman getting into a spaceship, about to chase after someone despite the pleas of a colleague on the gantry trying to tell her he loves her. The camera pulls out, and we realize we're watching someone watching a film. As ignition begins, the screen starts to shake with the vibration - only it's not from the film, it's an actual earthquake.
The man, Genya Tachibana (Shōzō Iizuka and Masamichi Satō at different ages) is leaving to interview an elderly actress and personal hero of his in conjunction with the studio she spent her career at closing its doors. Chiyoko Fujiwara (Miyoko Shōji, Mami Koyama, and Fumiko Orikasa at different ages) has been a hermit for 30 years, and Genya feels privileged to be granted his request for an interview.
But when he presents her with a gift - a key she lost at the studio that was precious to her - it starts us on a journey through her life and career as she ruminates on what it meant to her. The key was left behind by an anti-war agitator pursued by police during the invasion and occupation of Manchuria. Chiyoko fell in love with him as a young girl while she hid him from authorities, and became an actress in hopes of pursuing him to Manchuria and returning the key.
Millennium Actress tells Chiyoko's story through the prism of her career, flitting into and out of and between her roles with no warning, and it can often be hard to tell what's real and what's part of a role. All of her roles seem to involve the same core idea - a woman chasing after the man she loves, and never quite reaching him. Through her entire life she held onto this idea that the man she hid in her shed was out there waiting for her to find him, and it was so strong that it shaped everything she did. Her career was a way to search for him - to put her image out there and hope he would see her.
We watch Chiyoko grow on screen and in life from a young girl to a middle-aged woman, always searching. She spends some time married, but all based on the lie that she had lost the key (which her husband had arranged to be stolen to clear his path). After an earthquake strikes while filming the rocket launch scene, she realizes she's no longer the girl she was - her beloved could not recognize her. It's a realization that leads her to quit acting and seclude herself away.
The strain of the day - the earthquakes, the memories, and the way they're echoing from the past to the present proves too great a strain for the elderly Chiyoko. It seems like the story will end on a tragic or at least melancholy note - Genya reveals to his partner en route to the hospital that he learned Chiyoko's beloved died in police custody back in the 30s. But as she passes, looking forward to finally catching up to her beloved, we are returned to Chiyoko in her spaceship. As she's about to enter hyperspace, her final line is "After all, it's the chasing after him I really love."
It's a line that reframes the story we've seen. We've been imagining that Chiyoko's life was tragic and lonely, filled with a desperate longing for something always out of reach. That her being able to finally meet up with her beloved in death provided an at best melancholy ending. We missed that the chase itself was something fulfilling.
Satoshi Kon reminds us that a person can't be fully understood through the prism of a single object or a single moment. Our lives are more complex than that. We thought we were watching a tragic story of love lost, but in expertly guiding us through Chiyoko's career and life, Kon was reminding us that she also had incredible experiences and adventures.
Look at what Chiyoko's chase brought her - she saw places she never thought she'd see, met people she never thought she'd meet. Gained fame and fortune and even while secluded for the back half of her life had a select group of friends who would visit - she was never lonely. While her specific goal was never reached she still lived the life she wanted in pursuit of it, and that's worth celebrating.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/7: Schindler's List
JUST ONE PERSON WEEK!
For Just One Person Week we'll be covering Schindler's List, Stephen Spielberg's Best Picture-winning biopic about Oskar Schindler's efforts to save the lives of his Jewish workers during the height of the Holocaust. Join us next week for our discussion of this film, available on Netflix and for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/1: Hustlers
The current pairing concludes with Lorene Scafaria's film on women just trying to make a living, Hustlers. Join us Wednesday for our discussion! Hustlers is still in theaters.