Millennium Actress (2001)

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Satoshi Kon only directed four feature films, before passing away in 2010, and Millennium Actress (2001) is his most subtle one. Loosely based on the life of actresses Setsuko Hara (1920-2015) and Hideko Takamine (1924-2010), the film features a documentary film crew interviewing retired acting legend Chiyoko Fujiwara. As Chiyoko tells her life story, personal life, history and cinema get intertwined, resulting in a unique filmic experience.

Millennium Actress was Satoshi’s Kon second feature film, following upon the success of Perfect Blue (1997). As opposed to the previous film, Kon was allowed much more creative freedom for Millennium Actress, including hiring composer Susumu Hirasawa, who he had admired for a long time, to do the music for the film. As Kon recalled later, the original idea for Millennium Actress came from his discussion with producer Taro Maki that they wanted to make a film that resembled a trompe l’oeil, a very convincing optical illusion. With Millennium Actress, Kon delivered a love letter to postwar Japanese cinema that doubles as a poignant rumination of the role that cinema plays in our lives.

Melkweg often hosts different types of programmes at the same time, such as concerts, club nights and films. Please note that there may occasionally be some noise pollution from other programmes during the screening.