Millennium Actress

This was a great concept: blending memories of the private life and career life of an actress, within the framework of a documentary being shot in the present day.  The way it toys with characters and chronology is quite clever, as are the homages to Kurosawa, Mizoguchi (and probably others).  Unfortunately, the execution leaves much to be desired.  The two comic relief guys were really annoying, with all those exaggerated reactions so typical of anime.  They were like a cross between the guys in Hidden Fortress and the perpetually stoned spaceship pilots from Heavy Metal.  The animation was stiff and the acting was poor.  And to be blunt, most of it was kinda boring.  The whole time I was thinking how much better it would be in live action.  Some of the transitions might have been tricky, but the right director could pull it off.  Rating: 5

IMDb