Millennium Actress

"The magic of movies, the mystery of memory."

2002 1h 27m JA

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 1,102

AnimationDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.

“The magic of movies, the mystery of memory.”

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Cast

Miyoko Shoji
Chiyoko Fujiwara (70's) (voice)
Mami Koyama
Chiyoko Fujiwara (20-40's) (voice)
Fumiko Orikasa
Chiyoko Fujiwara (10-20's) (voice)
Showko Tsuda
Eiko Shimao (voice)
Shozo Iizuka
Genya Tachibana (voice)
Masaya Onosaka
Kyouji Ida (voice)
Masane Tsukayama
The Man with the Scar (voice)
Koichi Yamadera
The Man of the Key (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Satoshi Kon
Writers: Satoshi Kon, Satoshi Kon, Sadayuki Murai
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Satoshi Kon, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Susumu Hirasawa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Satoshi Terauchi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Miyoko Shoji and Mami Koyama and Fumiko Orikasa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The magic of movies, the mystery of memory.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0291350 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Satoshi Kon directs. Hisao Shirai behind the camera. Susumu Hirasawa scores. Satoshi Terauchi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 24 years ago.
3Directed by Satoshi Kon, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Susumu Hirasawa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Satoshi Terauchi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Miyoko Shoji and Mami Koyama and Fumiko Orikasa carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The magic of movies, the mystery of memory.".
8IMDB entry: tt0291350 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 22 themes, including "japan", "china", "key", "surreal".
10Released under 17 different titles around the world.