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Besides being an homage to 20th-century Japanese cinema through its many direct and indirect references to Japanese films, Millennium Actress uses the film medium and filmmaking as a vehicle for storytelling (see the “Storytelling” discussion thread) and visual bedazzlement. In doing so, what do you think Kon might be suggesting about the relationship between “real life” and “reel life” (so to speak)?
The blend of “real” memories from Chiyoko’s life with alternate versions of her films reinforces the idea that the film world is a reflection of our own. The segments of the film that take place in the fictional worlds from Chiyoko’s career weave into the central quest of Chiyoko’s real life. This mixture is representative of Chiyoko’s relationship with her career, which began and ended on account of events surrounding the painter that Chiyoko spends her life chasing. Just as the art that the characters of Millennium Actress both consume and participate in reflects the feelings and perspectives of those characters, so too does Kon’s film reflect the human condition shared by the director and his audience. Like the loyal fanboy Genya, an invested viewer can find himself falling into the world of Millennium Actress, connecting not only with the fictional characters who populate it but with the real people who worked so hard to bring those characters to life. Both the antithesis and compliment to Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress is a tribute to the bond between the artist and his audience forged by art.
Through his use of intertwining Chiyoko’s real life and reel life, Satoshi Kon makes the connection between her life in movies and her life outside of movies. While her lives within the movies are not truly occurring, that does not make them any less real for her. She still lives these moments and they as much a part of her as any part of her life. To further reinforce this, Satoshi Kon makes it hard at time to tell which parts of the movie are her actual life and which part are her films. Additionally, he has the films mimic her mission in her real life. Her goal is to find the painter who gave her the key. In her movies, she is often chasing after a man whom she has little to no idea where he is. This creates a parallel between her life and her movies to reinforce that occurrences in both places are real and true.
While I agree with Charles about media being a reflection of real life, I think the film medium plays more of a role in visualizing one’s dreams and fantasies. As many of us know I’m sure, one can get immersed and lost in the plot of a film so easily. This is because of its relatability. Sure, movies can be animated, or have some crazy fantastical elements to them, but the majority of the movies we are used to watching (and were seen in Millennium Actress) have characters with personalities and struggles that are easily related to. By becoming immersed in their lives, we live out our dreams and fantasies. Clearly, this happens to Chiyoko who quite literally seems to get lost between reality and film (well, I guess figuratively if you’re actually thinking about it). We get lost in film because of its realistic elements, but “reel life” is an immersive accentuation of “real life”.
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