Perfect BlueJust how well-defined are the lines that separate dream from reality? Perfect Blue chronicles the metamorphosis of Mima Kirigoe from a member of an unremarkable pop idol trio called Cham into an actress floundering to get her bearing, and subjected to humiliating exposure in an effort by her talent agency to make her more profitable. As Mima submits to being molded like clay into something unfamiliar, her obsessive fans express their rage at her seeming betrayal of them (at least, one in particular) by stalking and more shocking behavior out of protest. As Mima struggles to cope in her new world, her semblance of reality is not just bent, it is shattered.
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Perfect Blue is the debut feature film of one of anime's brightest stars--one that left us far too early--Satoshi Kon. Trained as an assistant to anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo, Kon worked alongside the "godfather of anime" and the influence is apperant in Kon's own work. However, Kon's style is unique and Perfect Blue establishes stylistic characteristics that would become hallmarks of the filmmaker's career, such as high-speed chases and razor-sharp cutaways. The rapid-fire editing of Perfect Blue gives the film a fast pace and subconsciously instills a sense in the viewer of an adrenaline-fueled anxiety and terror. Perfect Blue is filled with Mima chasing and being chased, and that speed of the editing is essential to that effect. And unlike many animated films, Perfect Blue features realistic backdrops and characters, convincing locales and settings that would feel at home in a live action movie--another trademark of Kon's. While one might wonder why this is significant for an animated movie, it subtly allows for opportunities to convey a manipulation of space and time that would not be possible with a live-action film. Without revealing much of the densely-layered story, these minute (but essential) directorial choices are what make Perfect Blue a stellar psychothriller...because of (not in spite of) being an animated film. As Mima begins her transition from pop idol to actress, the anxiety of disappointing her fans, family, and even her agency boils up almost immediately. Since it can be almost impossible to convey that kind of subtext in even a live-action film without clumsy narration, Kon's approach is to blur the lines of what Mima believes is happening and what actually is to the point where as viewers, even we cannot be confident about what is real and what is not.
Anime has on occasion been branded with the reputation that it is a collection of perverse and weird animated movies, featuring a predominance of extreme violence, "fan service" (read: cheesecake), and puerile stories. In all fairness, there is a lot of anime out there that is this, but that dismissive attitude has unfortunately let many great films go unappreciated...films like Perfect Blue. After a friend of mine had exposed me to this film on VHS, and I was fortunate enough to obtain a DVD copy many years ago, I have since broadened my expectations of what to expect from Japanese animation and storytelling. (It is a crime that Perfect Blue has not received a remastered/high-definition blu ray re-release in the United States.) Mima is a fascinating protagonist, eager to please to a fault, she internalizes her frustrations and stress--the unfortunate result is that she cannot cope, and her stress actually begins to break down her sanity. Though one of the greatest strengths of Perfect Blue is the multitude of interpretations about the degree of Mima's delusions, I find it would be impossible not to imagine that she suffers from at least some kind of madness propagated by her stress, as well as the manipulations of outside sources to undermine her health, mental and physical. Created in 1997, Perfect Blue is also something of a time capsule with regards to the advent of the personal computer. Mima is just getting her first computer, setting it up with the assistance of her career coach, Rumi. Watching the film again and seeing the highly realistic representation of an archaic Apple computer, hearing terms that sound foreign to Mima--but are more recognizable in our more technological society--like "URL" and "double-click", was amusing...but considering how commonplace things like global positioning and identity theft are, how everything we do can be tracked in a post-PRISM United States, it's not so hard to consider just how easy it is to slip into a paranoid fear of being watched and stalked, where even in your own room, someone is spying on you, and where a star's internet "fans" can tear violently into their beloved entertainers with all the gentility of a school of piranha. All of these terrors chip away at Mima, and all of a sudden, it's easy to see just how far down the rabbit hole she has gone.
Recommended for: Fans of an intelligent and terrifying animated film, which plays as a stylish psychological thriller. The dissolving sense of reality and fantasy can be dizzying, but what good roller coaster isn't?
Anime has on occasion been branded with the reputation that it is a collection of perverse and weird animated movies, featuring a predominance of extreme violence, "fan service" (read: cheesecake), and puerile stories. In all fairness, there is a lot of anime out there that is this, but that dismissive attitude has unfortunately let many great films go unappreciated...films like Perfect Blue. After a friend of mine had exposed me to this film on VHS, and I was fortunate enough to obtain a DVD copy many years ago, I have since broadened my expectations of what to expect from Japanese animation and storytelling. (It is a crime that Perfect Blue has not received a remastered/high-definition blu ray re-release in the United States.) Mima is a fascinating protagonist, eager to please to a fault, she internalizes her frustrations and stress--the unfortunate result is that she cannot cope, and her stress actually begins to break down her sanity. Though one of the greatest strengths of Perfect Blue is the multitude of interpretations about the degree of Mima's delusions, I find it would be impossible not to imagine that she suffers from at least some kind of madness propagated by her stress, as well as the manipulations of outside sources to undermine her health, mental and physical. Created in 1997, Perfect Blue is also something of a time capsule with regards to the advent of the personal computer. Mima is just getting her first computer, setting it up with the assistance of her career coach, Rumi. Watching the film again and seeing the highly realistic representation of an archaic Apple computer, hearing terms that sound foreign to Mima--but are more recognizable in our more technological society--like "URL" and "double-click", was amusing...but considering how commonplace things like global positioning and identity theft are, how everything we do can be tracked in a post-PRISM United States, it's not so hard to consider just how easy it is to slip into a paranoid fear of being watched and stalked, where even in your own room, someone is spying on you, and where a star's internet "fans" can tear violently into their beloved entertainers with all the gentility of a school of piranha. All of these terrors chip away at Mima, and all of a sudden, it's easy to see just how far down the rabbit hole she has gone.
Recommended for: Fans of an intelligent and terrifying animated film, which plays as a stylish psychological thriller. The dissolving sense of reality and fantasy can be dizzying, but what good roller coaster isn't?