Millennium Actress is a 2001 Japanese animated drama film co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse. Loosely based on the lives of actresses Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine, it tells the story of two documentary filmmakers investigating the life of a retired acting legend. As she tells them the story of her life, the borderline between cinema and reality gradually becomes blurred.
Theatrical release poster
Image: Gojira 1954 Japanese poster
Setsuko Hara was a Japanese actress. Though best known for her performances in Yasujirō Ozu's films Late Spring (1949) and Tokyo Story (1953), she had already appeared in 67 films before working with Ozu.
Setsuko Hara in Late Spring in 1949
Kiyo Kuroda (left) and Setsuko Hara (right) in Atami, Shizuoka in 1936 (the July 1936 issue of Nikkatsu Gahō)
in Atarashiki Tsuchi (1937)
in Late Spring (1949)