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 Shinichiro Miki Megumi Tano Akio Suyama Osamu Hosoi Kôichi Tôchika Emi Motoi Kishô Taniyama Shokkâ Ôno Rofuto Purasu Wan Burazâzu Makoto Kitano Sōichirō 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!
How the hell is this my first time with Satoshi Kon? This film is near-perfect, with some of the most uncomfortable, dream-like editing I've seen in any movie.
I hadn't seen this movie since it's first US release back in 1999 at the UC theater. For all I can tell, it was the exact same film print.
I want a live action version directed by aronofsky and starring Britney Jean Spears :)
Essentially what you get when you let David Lynch direct an anime.
It's astounding the sheer amount of surrealistic madness hidden in not only the story and the characters, but the film's editing, which all greatly complement the dream-like limbo state of confusion the film sets to achieve.
The level of heart in the film, telling a story about mental illness, identity and the loss of innocence is already great on its own, but combined with the film's unique presentation and constant misdirection, Perfect Blue is cemented as one of the greatest pieces of Japanese Anime, rivalling the works of Miyazaki.
The first time I saw this film I didn't know what to think I knew it was good but other than that I was perplexed I wasn't familiar with Satoshi Kon's style so I just thought this was some crazy almost-horror movie. But on my second-time through I can confidently say that this is exactly how this film is supposed to make me feel: Strange, confused, and uneasy. To be honest, feelings I'm not used to experiencing especially while watching anime, I can't I like to feel happy with blue skies, not uncomfortable angles and dull tints over everything. I do like this film and the atmosphere it brings I just wanted to clarify my confusion.
I do like this…
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anyone got any idea what the fuck is going on in here on this day? i sure dont
these are…
