The late Satoshi Kon was known for his clever symbolism and beautiful storytelling, and this movie shows it beautifully. This is a story where reality weaves interchangeably with movies and memories to recreate the story of Chiyoko’s life- a life filled with hope and unrequited love.

Not only do her own memories narrate her life and the story of her search for her love, but her movies do, too. We’re put into one scene after another from her movies, in chronological order. These movies, or scenes from them, mirror her life so completely it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t actually happen, that they aren’t past lives or future lives where she is still searching for the man she lost. What keeps us in the realm of reality are the narrators of Genya and Kyoji, the filmmaker and the cameraman, who narrate as they become wrapped up in the scenes and, indeed, occasionally become minor characters themselves.

But Kon was also remarkably good at creating sympathetic characters. Whether your original fondness is for Kyoji, who has an incredible amount of snarkiness and disbelief in Genya’s adoration for this old woman, or Genya who has some pretty hard hero-worship for an actress who will never grow old for him, as they are drawn into her story, so is the watcher. You see her grow from a shy girl with a crush into someone who deeply loves a man she may never see again. Her trials and tribulations are like the movies that she made- the slings and arrows that others cast on her search, the fact that to find him she may have to leave everything behind, the knowledge that she would leave everything and everyone behind to find him again.

These mix to create a story that is powerful and compelling. Life, love, heartbreak all come together as her story is told from beginning to end, from childish hope and beginnings to old but firm beliefs. This is a story for those who’ve lost someone precious, who still keep a burning torch in their heart, who love a good love story.

Violence/Gore: The artist was injured (you see blood in the snow), she visits one of the prisons where torture is implied to happen, there is some bombing. All deaths are merely said, not shown.

Theological Themes: There’s an instance in one of the first movie flashbacks where she’s talking to a spirit, and this pops up later. If you’re paying attention to the rewind of the movies when the title comes up, then you’ll realize this isn’t actually a spirit- it’s a scene from one of her movies that we’ve been plopped into, and there’s symbolism in it (she never does get to see her love again). These words are brought back to haunt her later in her life.

Violence: There is some brief fighting and some slight blood from injuries. All deaths are implied, but none are shown.

Sex and Nudity: None.

Theological Themes: One of the movies Chiyoko acts in has a spirit for a character, who appears throughout the film. This is for symbolic reasons, though.

Problematic Themes: There were maybe a couple instances of very light, mild swearing.

Overall: I really liked this movie. It was super creative in its storytelling methods and jam packed with symbolism. It was difficult to follow, though it all makes sense when you stop and think, since her films come so close to her reality. I also loved the camera man's snarky commentary the whole way through, as well as the director's sheer enthusiasm. The way the whole thing was staged was really cool. The artwork was beautiful, particularly the scenery and backdrops. The music was actually really great, as well. I strongly recommend this one to anyone looking for a good story. Melinnium Actress is really clean, but I'll recommend it to preteens and up, as younger children probably wouldn't like it or appreciate it. It definitely deserves a ten out of ten.