A new animated film by director Satoshi Kon and screenwriter Sadayuki Murai, who, with their film Perfect Blue, made an unprecedented effort to create a psycho-horror animation. Whereas their earlier film depicted a person′s inner self and her relation with reality using the figure of an actress-turned-Idol singer,<b> Chiyoko-Millennium Actress </b>is about the cross-relationship between reality and virtual reality. Tachibana receives an offer from a major film company to make a documentary about a famous actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara, as part of their 70-year celebration project. A big fan of the actress himself, Tachibana heads towards the actress′ house to do an interview. The actress has been in seclusion for nearly 30 years. The key, which her first love gave to her, quickly allows Chiyoko to recount her past. Her recollections become intermingled with scenes from her own films and soon metamorphose into a great adventure where cinema confronts her history and an incredible love is unveiled. In Japan where ′character industry′ is the norm, <b>Chiyoko-Millennium Actress</b> is strikingly original in its story and character. This film may come as a shock to many viewers accustomed to what they think of as "Japanimation". (Shion Yang)