Satoshi Kon

I'm lucky. You see, I live in Montreal. And in the summer of 1997, the Montreal Fant-Asia Festival presented an incredible movie; mind-blowing, powerful and unlike anything I'd ever seen before. That movie was Perfect Blue, and it changed my life. I was already somewhat aware of "anime" at the time, but that movie was the turning point, the experience that turned me into a die-hard anime fan. From that point I've been exposed to a lot of anime, some good, some bad, some funny, some sad. And on some very rare occasions, some on the level of Perfect Blue.

One of those very rare occasions came last summer, during the 2001 edition of the Fant-Asia festival. In 1997 we were treated to the world premiere of Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue, this year we were treated to the world premiere of Satoshi Kon's Millennium Actress, with the director in person to present the movie! Needless to say, I was very excited with the whole thing (I even got an autograph!) I don't believe that one great movie is enough to declare someone "a master". Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii and Katsuhiro Otomo are all considered masters because they proved their genius by repeatedly creating great movies. So what about Satoshi Kon? Was his second movie worthy of the reputation given to him by his first? My answer is an emphatic ABSOLUTELY!. Millennium Actress meets and exceeds all expectations; it is a true masterpiece which seals my faith in Satoshi Kon. Not only is it incredibly good, it is also the polar opposite of Perfect Blue (Love Epic vs. Psycho-Thriller). So not only does this prove the skill of Satoshi Kon, but it also proves his incredible versatility!

Satoshi Kon's movies:

Magnetic Rose (script)
Perfect Blue (1997)
Millennium Actress (2001)
Tokyo Godfathers (in production)


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