Hoezo in KINO

Millennium Actress was Satoshi’s Kon second feature film, following upon the success of Perfect Blue (1997). As opposed to the previous film, Kon was allowed much more creative freedom, including hiring composer Susumu Hirasawa, who he had admired for a long time, to do the music for the film. As Kon recalled later, the original idea for Millennium Actress came from his discussion with producer Taro Maki that they wanted to make a film that resembled a trompe l’oeil, a very convincing optical illusion. With Millennium Actress, Kon delivered a love letter to postwar Japanese cinema that doubles as a poignant rumination of the role that cinema plays in our lives.