Review of Millennium Actress/Perfect Blue box set

Introduction

Satoshi Kon first came to prominence in the West with Perfect Blue, an anime film with a difference. And then Satoshi Kon slipped away from public attention, the anime equivalent of the one hit wonder. He was still working in Japan though, with his next feature Millennium Actress completed in 2001, and more recently Tokyo Godfathers. This year he came back to prominence however with the release in the West of the acclaimed Paranoia Agent television series, as he once again revisits the themes of paranoia and anxiety in perception altering experiences.

Manga Entertainment make this a bumper harvest for Satoshi Kon fans, as while the third volume of Paranoia Agent will soon arrive on British shores courtesy of MVM, Manga join in the fun and collect the recently released Millennium Actress and the venerable Perfect Blue together for a Satoshi Kon double bill.

Millennium Actress

With the demolition of Ginei studios, an era of filmmaking is coming to an end. Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana is marking the event with an exclusive interview with Ginei`s most popular actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko has been a recluse for the past thirty years, and the opportunity to interview her is a major coup, especially as Tachibana is a devout fan of her movies. He also takes the opportunity to return a piece of property to her, a key that she had thought lost since her retirement. The key literally unlocks buried memories for Chiyoko, and as she begins to relate the story of her life to Tachibana, it becomes clear just how much the key influenced her career and the path her life took. As her memories and movies begin to intertwine, Tachibana finds he is actively participating in the events that shaped her life.

Perfect Blue

Mima Kirigoe is a pop idol with Cham, but Mima wants more than this, and decides to branch into acting, quitting the band. Her first role is a minor one in a detective drama, but when her agents ask for her role to be expanded, the writers oblige by writing an exploitative scene where her character is assaulted in a nightclub. It means the end of her wholesome pop idol image, but she feels obligated to the writers. But there are some out there who don`t want to let the pop idol go, and as Mima makes one bad decision after another, she begins to be haunted by the image of who she used to be. Then the writer who tainted her image is murdered.

Video

Millennium Actress

Millennium Actress gets a beautiful 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, boasting a clear and sharp image. The colours are strong and the rich details of the animated world come through well on the transfer. The character designs are simple but effective, and the emphasis is on keeping the animation as realistic as possible, with a degree of minimalism in expression and motion that reflects the real world. However that changes when we begin to see Chiyoko`s memories, her childhood is represented in a stylised manner, and the films she starred in are shown in styles appropriate to their respective genre. While the characters stay consistent, the animation style varies in look and feel, and it`s easy to point out influences from other films.

Perfect Blue

And this is where age catches up with Perfect Blue. This five-year-old disc boasts a 1.85:1 letterbox transfer. The image is clear for the most part, but there is the occasional spot of print damage, and the lower resolution means that there is some softness. I also noticed a few digital artefacts around fine detail and some blurring. The animation itself is excellent, although this isn`t a film that presents you with fantastic imagery from the outset. Perfect Blue is a story told in the real world, and as such the characters and the world they live in are depicted with almost minimalist realism. It makes the way the story unfolds all the more effective. It really is a shame about the image format, as this would have been an ideal opportunity to release an anamorphic version.

Audio

Millennium Actress

Manga Entertainment have a knack of loading up on soundtrack options for their releases, and Millennium Actress is no exception. You have a choice of DD 2.0, DD 5.1 and DTS soundtracks, in both English and Japanese. I chose to listen to the Japanese Dolby track, and found it to be effective and vibrant in the use of the soundstage. There is a good degree of ambience throughout, and the spot effects are reproduced well. Susumu Hirasawa, also composer on Paranoia Agent, scores the film with an emotional and uplifting theme, and you can hear the changes in music style as the genre of film changes.

I listened briefly to the English track and it seemed adequate, if not quite up to the standards of the original language track. I didn`t appreciate the longhaired cameraman being given a hippy voice, although the odd pronunciation of Tachibana as `Tackibana` was easier to dismiss. The subtitles don`t exactly follow the dub version, but they are close enough as to make no difference. The dub will add a few extraneous words to match the mouth movements. Either way, it is not a literal translation of the Japanese language track. The layer change could also have been better placed.

Perfect Blue

You have a choice between DD 5.1 English and Japanese, as well as a DD 2.0 English Stereo track. Contrary to the packaging, there is no Japanese Stereo track however. It doesn`t matter though, as the sole Japanese track is more than satisfactory. The dialogue is clear and the surrounds are used to subtle effect in relaying the ambience, and when the story requires it, an unsettling feel that is matched by the haunting theme from Masahiro Ikumi. The English subtitles are zoom-friendly, and it seems that they are the translated subtitles, although they do follow the English dub quite closely. I had a quick listen to the English dub, and the cast seemed to suit their roles as well as the Japanese voice artists.

Features

Millennium Actress

Millennium Actress comes with some wonderfully animated menus. Inside the Amaray case, you will find a mini poster, with some production notes printed on the reverse.

On the disc, you will find the US Trailer, but the more substantial offering is a making of featurette with optional English subtitles. This lasts 41 minutes and in a conceit, is presented by the character of Tachibana. There are interviews with many who were involved with the film including director Satoshi Kon of course, as well as the producer, writer, composer and several of the voice artists. As the title says, it looks at the making of, as well as the genesis of the film, the desire to explore history, and keeping the film design authentic.

Perfect Blue

Animated menus, a chapter insert and a booklet advertising other Manga releases, as well as MVM`s Paranoia Agent.

The extras on the disc are all hidden away in Mima`s Room, and in a nod to the plot point in the movie, they are presented as a website.

Cham lets you watch their audio track being recorded in the studio, as well as listening to the English version of the same song against a still from the movie. This lasts 9 minutes.

Some Photos I Took is a 3-minute slideshow that has stills from the film, with captions putting them in context. If you feel like it, you can watch the film instead.

My Favourite Videos shows the age of this disc. For 4 minutes, you can watch a trailer for other Manga Entertainment releases that are, or rather were available on VHS in 2000.

My Favourite DVDs does the same thing, but presents 9 pages of text for Manga titles that were available on the shiny disc back then.

Meet Some Of My Friends contains the interviews. The 3 English interviews are voiced over clips of the film, and include chats with Ruby Marlow, who talks about dubbing Mima, Wendy Lee who voiced Rumi, and Bob Marks, who talks about voicing Mr Me-Mania. Then there is a 6-minute chat with Junko Iwao, who talks about how she was cast for the role of Mima, as well as her impressions of the character. This is a live interview, and is subtitled (burnt in) in English. Finally there is an 11-minute interview with director Satoshi Kon, who talks about directing his first animated feature, as well as the story he intended to convey.

My favourite links point to Manga.com, Perfectblue.com and Sputnik7.com. Click on these links and you`ll play trailers for the relevant company/movie.

To round it all off, there is a page of DVD credits.

Conclusion

This Satoshi Kon twinpack collects two films that are different in every way but one. They are both of stunning quality, telling stories that are gripping and visually lush. In terms of contrast and content, they make something of an odd couple, but both are worthy to grace any DVD collection.

Millennium Actress

Satoshi Kon does it again, he creates a story where characters perceptions begin to overwhelm reality, where what is real and what isn`t begins to fade in importance in comparison with how people are affected by their beliefs and their memories. Unlike Perfect Blue or Paranoia Agent however, Millennium Actress doesn`t dwell on the theme of paranoia, but is instead a love story that takes place over half a century of Chiyoko`s life, or a thousand years of Japanese history. It`s the best kind of love story too, as we see how one event can shape someone`s entire life.

The key that Tachibana returns to Chiyoko is the symbolic key that unlocks her memories, memories that she has suppressed for thirty years, and are now so overwhelming that Tachibana and his cameraman find themselves drawn into the past with Chiyoko. Chiyoko`s story begins when she is a child, and is approached to work in films. Her mother disapproves of her daughter becoming something so crass as an actress, but a chance encounter in a snowy street introduces Chiyoko to her first love, a dissident artist on the run from the authorities. She shelters him, and in return he gives her the key that she comes to cherish. It isn`t long before he has to escape once more, and head to Manchuria to continue his fight against oppression. It`s when Chiyoko hears that the next Ginei film will be made in Manchuria that she makes the decision to become an actress, so she can keep her promise to return the man`s key. From that point Chiyoko`s recollections blur, mixing elements of her life and elements from the films she made, all of them concerning her desire to find the man who touched her heart when she was a teenager. In her memories two figures are always prominent, the mysterious and always unreachable man she pursues, and a scar-faced authority figure that always stands in her way. They are soon joined by the figure of Tachibana, whose own adoration of Chiyoko casts him in the role of protector in her memories, much to the consternation of his cameraman.

Just like Perfect Blue, there is more than one layer to this film. Millennium Actress is a celebration of the Japanese film industry, with the history of Ginei studios reflecting the past of many of Japan`s filmmakers from the pre-war years to the early seventies, as Chiyoko talks about her career in films. The roles she takes, and the films she stars in cover a period of a thousand years of Japan`s history, from the Warring States period, through the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries and beyond into the future. It makes for a variety of styles and a wonderful tapestry of design all in the space of one film.

Once again, I`m struck with just how real this film is. Although the animation is of outstanding quality, what strikes me is the emotional depth of the story, just how true to life each of these characters feel, how genuine their responses are to the situations they face, and how they interact. The story`s honesty of heart and realism of character elevate this above merely an animated film. Millennium Actress is an astounding film full stop. It`s by turns funny, moving, heart-warming, tragic and uplifting. I was lost in the life of Chiyoko Fujiwara, and by the end credits, I`m not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye. I`d defy anyone else not to feel the same way.

Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue is an absolutely gripping psychological thriller. There is also valuable social commentary on the fickle nature of fame, and the effect it has not only on those seeking fame, but also on those who allow their fanatical adoration of idols to turn into all consuming obsession. That it is an animated film is almost an afterthought. The reality of the characters and the way that the story develops is such that very early on, I found myself engrossed in the unfolding events, and had completely forgotten that the film wasn`t live action. This is less a comment on the quality of the animation, although it is of a uniformly high standard, rather than acknowledging the strength and power of the storytelling.

Central to the story is Mima, the young pop idol that wished to become an actress. There is an initial ambiguity as to whose idea it is, with her agents believing that an increase in her public exposure can only be a good thing. She soon embraces the idea though, and wholeheartedly throws herself into her new career. It isn`t easy of course, especially when her new peers and colleagues look down on her because of her pop background. Her agents work to get her role expanded, but it comes at a cost. She has to portray a character that is raped, in a scene that verges on the exploitative. She`s reluctant of course, but feels obligated to her agents. It`s such a change from her previous image that the emotional pressure becomes too much to bear. From the opening scenes of the film, the story is told in such a way to set up a contrast between the public pop idol image of Mima and the private individual. This contrast becomes real for Mima when she starts being haunted by the pop idol image of her former self. As she continues to make bad decisions, her former self begins to taunt her, accusing her of selling out. It`s when it appears that this ghostly image can affect the real world that Mima begins to break from reality.

The film isn`t so simplistic as to paint a convenient exploitative villain. Mima`s agents do have her best interests at heart, and they realise that both they and Mima have to sacrifice her former image to succeed at her new career. While Tadokoro is implicit in the choices presented to Mima, he does profess reluctance when it becomes too exploitative. He recognises that it is the way the industry operates. Far more sympathetic to Mima is her other agent Rumi. Being a former pop star herself, she understands what Mima is going through. It`s one of the film`s more moving scenes when they are filming the rape, and Rumi realises just what she has done to her client.

The nature of fandom is revealed in the incidental moments of the film, as people gossip and spread rumours about Cham and Mima. It`s the sort of opinion that fills many a tabloid and is relatively innocuous. Fandom becomes more serious though, when Mima learns that she has a website in her honour. It should be ringing alarm bells when she sees that it chronicles the intimate and mundane events of her day-to-day life, as well as her inner feelings. She`s hardly computer literate though and as her reality begins to crumble, the website begins to reflect the pop idol self rather than who she wants to be. That she has a stalker is evident, someone who obsesses about the pop idol and doesn`t want that to change. When Mima announces that she is leaving Cham, the stalker becomes fixated on preventing that, and the lengths that he pursues grow more and more extreme.

Perfect Blue is one of the best thrillers that I have seen in years. It`s a story that draws in the viewer, is both unsettling and moving, and challenges the perceptions. The story is tightly plotted, and the climax had me at the edge of my seat. Unfortunately the disc is five years old now and getting long in the tooth. Perfect Blue is calling out for an anamorphic transfer. But while the disc may not be perfect, the film most certainly is.

These are two brilliant films that transcend simple categorisation as animation, to become emotionally powerful experiences regardless of genre. Millennium Actress is a pure and magical love story that embraces you in warmth of emotion, while Perfect Blue is an unsettling edge of the seat thriller that will have you almost as breathless as the harried protagonist. There is no reason not to have this boxset on your shelf.