1997 ‘パーフェクトブルー’ Directed by Satoshi Kon
Mima Kirigoe is a singer who leaves her trio to become an actress, a career move that angers her fans, who prefer to see her as the pop idol. Plagued by self-doubt and tormented by humiliating compromises, she begins to be stalked, in her waking and sleeping moments, by an alter ego who claims to be "the real Mima", until she collapses into madness as her coworkers are brutally slain around her.
Junko Iwao Rica Matsumoto Shinpachi Tsuji Masaaki Ōkura Yōsuke Akimoto Yoku Shioya Hideyuki Hori Emi Shinohara Kiyoyuki Yanada Tōru Furusawa Shiho Niiyama Emiko Furukawa Aya Hara Shin'ichirou Miki Megumi Tano Akio Suyama Osamu Hosoi Kôichi Tôchika Emi Motoi Kishô Taniyama Shokkâ Ôno Rofuto Purasu Wan Burazâzu Makoto Kitano Soichiro Hoshi Masashi Ebara
The blurred line between what is real, and what is not. A theme explored in movies such as: Repulsion, Belle de Jour, Triangle and Black Swan. A film aspect that's never been a favorite of mine. However, I found the outlier. Perfect Blue hooked me from the opening, and I was on the edge of my seat until the final credits rolled.
Perfect Blue is batshit crazy in an eat your heart out Darren Aronofsky type of way. It's the movie Black Swan only wished it could be. It's simply a badass flick with a lot of social commentary on the media, fame and internet usage for dummies circa 1997. At least in my mind it is.
Part Giallo. (Fun…
Film #100 of Make me watch your favourite.
Recommended by James Haves.
After having seen most of Kon's filmography now, I can only conclude he was one of the most gifted storytellers to ever work in film.
Perfect Blue is yet another intriguing and powerful exploration of the human psyche, this time in the guise of a complex thriller. Kon weaves a tale around a superbly written female protagonist that not only serves as a vessel for some social commentary about Japanese teen pop culture but also as our eyes and ears into a young girl's faltering mind as pressure, expectations and self doubt take over her world.
The layered and complex narrative bobs and weaves through reality and fantasy…
There has been a fair amount of talk on my activity stream recently about the work of the late Satoshi Kon, so ahead of watching some of his films I decided to revisit the one film of his that I have seen, albeit about 12 years ago now.
In fact, my first viewing of Perfect Blue was done towards the end of a major anime craze of mine, when I was just starting to tire of the genre as a whole. I was pretty taken aback by this film. No giant tentacle cocks. No stupid big tears appearing besides characters' faces when they're perplexed by something. No ridiculously overdone ultra-violence. This can't be right?
To me, it seemed like a…
Completely gripping from start to finish, this had me guessing until the very end. Fantastic animation and great direction, its one of those films that transcends its medium and is just all about the story.
CW: rape, misogyny, mental illness, trans/gender, anti-neurodiversity
Haunted by a past self, haunted by patriarchal violence, haunted by their objectifications and wrongly applied assertions of mental illness*, haunted by a parallel life that can't be yours, Mima resonates strongly to this trans woman. I just wish they'd've treated the mental illness angle with a little more sensitivity. On the grand relative scale, this seems to portray rape with more complexity and thought than most. The fact that it's (a) a simulated rape within the context of the story--in this case, she is an actress doing a rape scene--and (b) still traumatic for her suggests such a profound sympathy for those who experience sexual assault that it seems to retroactively emphasize…
An anime? A film? No, a kidnapping. I was taken by force, dragged against my will into Mima's mind. Trapped inside, I was forced to follow her downward spiral, my mind slowly decaying with hers. Satoshi Kon, you evil bastard. You... genius. Blurring the line between reality and imagination with each cut, always have us guessing what will assault our eyes in the next scene, building up an unsettling amount of tension with such rapid pace. A work like this requires so much patience and precision, but this is not a problem for you, is it, Satoshi-sensei? Oh what a masterpiece! What a masterpiece!
Viewers are too used to being treated kindly, so I've broken this pattern deliberately. - Satoshi Kon
He did just that. It is dark and has a powerful story. This debuted 20 years ago but still remains timely. I have no idea why I have just seen this now.
A perfect blue rose case most definitely..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................but who is the dreamer?
Masterpiece. The lust for and cost of fame nearly destroys Mima im this ultra lavish mid-90's restyling of the gialli.
Satoshi Kon as his own section at Cinefile Video in LA; if you live there, go rent it ASAP!
"No, I'm the real thing."
I decided to watch Perfect Blue because I've heard it's a huge influence on a film I really want to watch, Black Swan (as you can probably tell I'm planning on finishing all of Aronofsky's films before Mother!). Honestly, if Black Swan is better than this I will be completely stunned because holy fucking shit, this is one of the most insane, terrifying and twisty psychological thrillers I've ever seen.
I don't think I've seen a film that blurs the line between fantasy and reality as well as Perfect Blue since watching Ingmar Bergman's Persona. The animation is absolutely fantastic and is used so effectively that the film constantly manages to play with your mind…
I'm doing an article on this so I'll post that soon. In the meantime: Perfect Blue > Black Swan.
Film #13 off my list for Dan Mundell's Scavenger Hunt 30.
Task 14/30: A film with a color in the title
Film #4 of 31 for Hoop-Tober 4.0
6 countries (4/6): Japan
6 decades (4/6): 90's
I'm going to preface this by saying that I was very tired when I watched Perfect Blue, and this really isn't the type of film that holds together well when you're nodding off.
That being said... I did enjoy Perfect Blue, but not nearly as much as the general Letterboxd populace seems to. It reminded me quite a lot of Black Swan, which I adored... but this didn't grab my attention or enchant me the way Black Swan did. Also I found the ending to be rather meh.
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