|
monolith94
|
 |
New England
Jan 1970
time: 00:30
|
|
Wrote a mini-review for millenium actress:
Life imitates art, art imitates life. Vice versa again and again. Irony begets paradox and the paradox becomes ironic. A film rich in poetic vision turns in on itself and in doing so reaches outward.
MIllenium actress is the first film I have seen that, without a doubt, MUST be respected as an intelligent film. The brilliance is undeniable - documentarians arrive at the house of a reclusive actress, haunted by a single memory of her youth.
Haunted by a single memory of youth - in that way it is much like Truffaut's Day For Night. In Day For Night, we see a Director's haunting memory as a child of going to a cinema and stealing postcards of Citizen Kane. This unique memory reveals his love for cinema and provides context for his struggle to make a movie.
Chiyoko's memory provides context as well - her chance encounter with a noble, enigmatic stranger gives her the inner strength, and is the basis of all her roles to come. It is a moment sealed in both time and every single movie she makes. It is obvious - her films are all filled with passion, the search, the hunt.
Much like Dr. Zhivago, the hunt is all consuming. Chiyoko collapses in a vast expanse of white snow: she is nearing the end of her hunt. Her love is a guide, a sign on every path she follows. In imagery, I found Millenium Actress a bit reminiscent of Dr. Zhivago, and in ideas, it draws an all sorts of sources. Yes, on the surface this movie is in honor of post world war 2 japanese films, but that does not mean that these are the only sources of inspiration.
Millenium Actress, then, does more than just provide 7 movies for the price of one, it takes the viewer inside both the movie and the life behind them (for they are one) and gives the audience anything they could ever possibly ask for: adventure, romance, humor, panache, suspense, thrills, excitement: in short this film makes use of the entire spectrum of the possibilities of filmmaking. It is, I think, the ultimate film about the making of the ultimate film.
If what I say sounds confusing, don't worry - Millenium Actress makes alot more sense than I do. These are simply the writings of a fellow admirer, a fellow hunter who craves to live and hunt as these characters do. Millenium Actresses' themes go totally beyond simple reflections on film - they extend into the realm of all of the best art: reflections on perspective, memory, love and desire.
Millenium Actress is, without a doubt, the single finest film created so far this year. Considering the quality of Millenium Actress, I highly doubt than anything will unseat it.
|
28-10-2003 08:12
|
|