Anime Film Series Accompanies Asian Art Exhibit

With vivid colors and stylized storylines, anime has amassed a worldwide cult following. This contemporary Asian animation genre has its origins in Japanese manga comics, and the MFAH presents a sampling to accompany the MFAH exhibition RED HOT — Asian Art Today from the Chaney Family Collection (now through Oct 21st). Featured are a family favorite from South Korea distributed by the Houston-based company ADV Films, plus two instant classics from Japan.

Tonight's Film [Thu., Aug. 9th, 7PM] : Millennium Actress (Sennen Joyû),

The New York Times describes Millennium Actress as "a headlong love letter to the grand tradition of post-World War II live-action Japanese cinema, from samurai epics to urban domestic dramas to Godzilla." Indeed, the film will delight lovers of live-action Japanese movies, but there´s more: this fictional biography of a famous reclusive actress turns issues of stardom and fandom into a touching story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Filmmaker Kon Satoshi (Paprika) is known for creating "un-anime"-like films with complex, mature female characters, and Millennium Actress is one of his best.

Millennium Actress (Sennen Joyû),
Directed by Kon Satoshi
Japan, 2001
Color, 87 Minutes
Japanese with English subtitles

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Next Film: Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence [Aug 23rd, 7pm]