In anime director Satoshi Kon's tragically short career, he's left a strong impression through his skillful storytelling and use of animation. One of the most iconic things about his work, unfortunately, is the lack of availability. His films (and one television series) would each be licensed in America to different distributors, many of whom went backrupt not long after releasing them, and Kon's death seemed to put out any hope of a license rescue for years. Only his latest film, "Paprika," seems to be perpetually in print, thanks to over-printing on part of still-in-business distributor "Sony Pictures Classics." Similarly, "Tokyo Godfathers" can generally still be found on DVD by the same distributor. But "Perfect Blue?" "Paranoia Agent?" "Millennium Actress?" Forget about it!Although, "Perfect Blue" DID get re-released in 2019 on DVD and Bluray, thanks to GKIDS in North America. For collectors in the region, this makes "Millennium Actress" the last of the films to be stuck in limbo, forever out of reach for fans unwilling to pay over $100 for a used copy (I'll ignore the series "Paranoia Agent" for the sake of argument). When I was just getting into collecting anime on home video, circa 2008, I first looked for "classic" feature films, and was smart enough to purchase "Millennium Actress" on DVD for about $30, recognizing the price was going up and the film was likely out of print. The movie was licensed by "Go Fish" Pictures, a short-lived subsidary of "Dreamworks Home Video" that specialized in localizing foreign animated films. Only "Actress" and "Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence" would be released by them before they gave up. Strange, since these were arguably the biggest anime films of the early 2000's, although the anime community didn't miss them and their poor-quality, poorly-subtitled, not-dubbed DVDs. For what it's worth, my Go Fish DVD of "Millennium Actress" seemed pretty good to me, and is a worthy way to experience the film, moreso since it's still the only way to do so. I hope GKIDS or another firm can rescue this final masterpiece one day.And a masterpiece it is; I'd dare say "Millennium Actress" is my favourite film of Satoshi Kon's work. Unlike his other movies, it doesn't stray into darker adult themes of sex, rape, human behavior and madness. Instead, this relatively family-friendly film is one that feels in line with true classic Hollywood love stories, right up there with "Casablanca" or "Gone with the Wind." The story is about a pair of documentary filmmakers who get the chance to interview the fictional retired actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, as the Japanese film company she once worked for finally closes its doors. Chiyoko doesn't typically welcome visitors, but seems in good spirits to talk with the interviewer (a man who secretly idolized her) and his ignorant cameraman. As Chiyoko tells her tale of how she entered the film industry, the scene we (the viewers) see is of flashbacks of her past. The director and cameraman are also there, wondering how they time-traveled into this setting. In true Kon-fashion, the film blurs Chiyoko's memories, her movies, and reality itself to reveal her dramatic story, which revolves around the stranger Chiyoko meets and falls in love with early in life: her career as an actress was entirely driven, not by a love for movies, but her desire to meet him again.In lesser hands, this type of story might seem dull or uninspired. The ability of the writers and director to blend fantasy and reality is what sets "Millennium Actress" as an impressive feat. The romantic-drama-period-piece is an inspired genre, giving us a glimpse of the complicated political climate through the 1900's in Japan, and using Chiyoko's films as a metaphor to have her live a "millennium" to reach her goal. The role of the director and cameraman makes for great comic relief and helps entertain the audience in a story that might otherwise feel dull after a time. From both an editing standpoint and a premise, I think this has the strongest writing on any of Kon's films, sealed with a great final line that puts the entire story into perspective. 
As far as production values go, the film's visuals are purposely grounded in reality. Characters move and run with unusual realism, leaving cartoonish exaggeration to facial expressions for comedy. For a pre-digital era, I'd say this is one of the finest animation efforts studio Madhouse has done. Visually, things are less distinctive than they are with Kon's other works, or in anime in general, a restriction that comes from the desire to keep a level of realism. The Japanese voice actors, of which three characters solely carry the movie, do a fine job, although I admit Chiyoko's character was a bit naive throughout the adventure. The music was by Susumu Hirasawa, who would collaborate again with Kon in later work, and he is able to use his distinctive style with a bit more restraint here, to great effect: it's a great soundtrack.It might not be as revolutionary as "Perfect Blue" or as fun as "Paprika," but I still think "Millennium Actress" is one of my favourite films by Satoshi Kon. It's lack of violence makes it better suited to introduce to friends or family, to see if they appreicate the clockwork imagination of Kon's writing. It's a story that could easily be adapted for Western audiences too. There's a lot to like here, hopefully it won't be completely forgetten as history moves on.