Perfect Blue

Plot twist, after plot twist, twisting time at every second. As in every Satoshi Kon film, time is warped, un-bended and bended again, but it is always engaging and fantastical to watch. Black Swan definitely seems to have been inspired by this, for it is simply perfect... blue. Still don't know why it's called that.

'Perfect Blue (1997)' is genuinely disturbing, especially when it comes to its depictions of sexual violence. It features one of the most upsetting rape scenes I've seen (not that rape scenes are ever anything other than upsetting), even though the scene in question is framed as a consensual simulation, part of a television show that our protagonist, Mima, is filming. The flick also makes a nude photo shoot seem incredibly leery and violating, despite the fact that the shoot is, at least on the surface, entirely consensual. I say "at least on the surface" because the picture never makes it clear whether or not it is Mima's actual desire to do the things she is doing; as a fellow reviewer put it, she consents to these things simply because she doesn't know how not to. Although she constantly says that she chose to become an actress and, in saying so, implies that the horrors she faces are simply unavoidable consequences of that decision (which they should never be), she is never actually depicted as having chosen to be an actress at all; it's her manager who consistently reinforces the idea, with his reasoning seemingly being entirely based on the proposed profits of his decision. We don't know if she herself actually wants to do what she's doing or whether she has just internalised the wishes of others, in a similar fashion to how she internalises the public's hypocritical perception of her to the point that her true self is seemingly lost. In every instance in which Mima consents to being put in a sexualised, typically exploitative situation, she also subsequently expresses deep regret and experiences some form of trauma. Her life is entirely controlled by the men around her, from her all-male fans who leer at her while she's on stage and practically peer through her clothing yet chastise her when she actually shows some skin and expresses her sexuality to her manager who constantly excuses the exploitative situations he puts her in and even pushes for further scenarios in an effort to cement her position as an actress (a position which, again, he is entirely responsible for) to the stalker who watches her every move and impersonates her online in an effort to maintain the squeaky clean image he so desperately desires her to have. Everyone seeks to control her and she herself internalises this control as her own wants and needs. She confuses her true self with the self that other people want her to be, whether that's the innocent pop star or the grown-up actress. Her true self is arguably never seen on screen; if it is, it's whenever she is on her own, away from the public eye, and is able to reflect on her existence. Even the safety of her apartment soon becomes derailed, though. As her realities start to bleed into one another, so do the different elements of the film itself. It blurs the line between reality and the eerily true-to-life television show Mima is working on, between reality and the increasingly disturbing waking nightmares Mima is experiencing, even between reality and reality itself (it often presents us with situations that must be real to an extent, yet it does so in a deliberately confusing and, even, misleading way). The entire movie represents the crisis of personality at the heart of its tale. It brilliantly folds its conflict into its very fabric, trapping us within an uncomfortable and increasingly erratic headspace. You feel as unsteady and as icky as the protagonist, victimised by the plot's horrors and shaken by its mind-bending concepts. It's purposefully ambiguous, purposefully unsettling, as much a horror film as any other to use that label. Somehow, it's even scary in its most realistic moments; it doesn't need to make you question reality to make your skin crawl. I feel as though I'm not explaining it as well as I could be, because there's so much to say and it's so difficult to concisely do so (I'm also aware that I want to avoid major spoilers). This is a movie that practically demands analysis. Despite being animated, it's as real and mature as any film ever has been. It will seriously get under your skin. It certainly got under mine, and it's showing no signs of getting out any time soon. It's one of the few films I can recall that genuinely disturbed me. 8/10.

Roger Corman is quoted as considering this a cross between Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, whilst others have referenced Argento and Lynch. Whilst I'm not particularly keen on any of these comparisons, it is certainly true to say that this film, even though it is animated, is much closer to live action than what we normally consider animation. There are times when you forget you are watching animation, the urban shots of Tokyo are mesmerising, and I have certainly never seen so much blood in an animated film. I was going to say violence but I guess there is plenty of that in a Tom and Jerry short. This, of course, is much harder edged and although it begins in pink, girlie, teen idol territory it is not there for long and there are delirious sequences towards the end when it will not only be the person on screen who is having an identity crisis!

Japanese animation has become a very popular style of animation in Western culture due to the wide range of genres it employs and its many different approaches to storytelling; two elements that immediately set it apart from the common Western style of cartoons that almost always are made for children only. Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue" quickly became a favorite among western fans of anime because it explored themes rarely seen in western animation; themes that had more in common with the horror genre such as obsessions, murders and suspense.

The story revolves around Mima (Junko Iwao), a young singer who is quickly becoming an idol as part of the musical trio "Cham". In order to make her career more marketable her managers make her leave the group and join the cast of a famous TV series. However, her new role is considerable different than the cute image she portrayed in "Cham", as it requires her to do nude scenes including a rape scene. At the same time she tries to adjust to her new job, someone begins to stalk her and to brutally kill those near her artistic career and Mima begins to wonder if she is really doing the right thing.

"Perfect Blue" is often labeled as a classic of Japanese animation because it presents a way different kind of story to those used to family-oriented animation. In is closer to an Italian Giallo than to a normal cartoon both in thematics and in style. The use of animation as a medium allows director Satoshi Kon to create stylish images of high surrealism as well as powerful images of violence. It is not something young children should watch.

Based on a novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, the film offers an interesting and harsh criticism to the "idol culture" in Japan, and its exaggerated portrait of an obsessed fan is an extreme, yet hauntingly realist image of insane obsessions. The story has been labeled as "Hitchcocknian", but its lack of subtlety in terms of graphic violence and nudity, as well as its high level of surrealism puts it closer to the stylish Italian sub-genre of Giallo.

By keeping the story around Mima, Satoshi Kon creates haunting atmospheres of paranoia as Mima feels strange in her new career; while it sacrifices character development of the supporting characters, this approach increases the feeling of isolation and adaptation the story has, making a more effective horror/mystery piece. Like any Giallo, the haunting image of the mysterious stalker is always present, and in "Perfect Blue" the mystery and suspense are very well handled making the movie a great work of suspense.

The animation is very good, and not as flashy as casual anime fans would assume. The movie's mixture of realism and surrealism works very well with the style of drawing and the camera-work is brilliant. Still, while the plot at times gets a bit predictable to hardcore horror fans, it still holds up and keeps captivating from start to end. The original Japanese voice work is very good, so I would recommend watching it with subtitles instead of dubbed.

"Perfect Blue" seems flawless as motion pictures can go, and the odd choice of using animation as medium (it was originally meant to be a normal live action movie) makes it different than the rest. This is a blessing as neither anime fans nor horror fans have seen a quality animated horror movie like this before. 8/10

"Perfect Blue" is a very, very dark anime...so don't let your kids watch it thinking it's like "Pokemon" or "Inuyasha"! It's also a confusing mind-bending sort of film...one that certainly is unique.

When the anime begins, Mima is in an up and coming pre-packaged Japanese girl bands. However, her agent convinces her to leave this life and pursue a career in films. But this way to success is very dark and soul-crushing and soon they have her in a film featuring a rape, lots of violence and nudity. All the while, Mima struggles with herself. She hates what she's doing but in the world of female pop stars and starlets, she feels a sense of obligation and won't publicly question the folks looking after her career. Now at this point, the film gets weird...really, really weird. Mima seems to be losing her mind and some murders occur...and soon the viewer is confused and they might be seeing the world through the eyes of a lunatic...or a killer! What's it all mean? See the film and TRY to unravel it all...but don't be surprised if you still are questioning what it all means.

This is a very clever film and its plot is deep and very strange...and I liked that. But be forewarned...the film shows some very sexually explicit and violent scenes...even by Japanese standards (the film features pubic hair...something very taboo in Japanese culture). Well done and worth seeing...but just don't let the kids see it or anyone who have been sexually abused as a few of the scenes just might be too intense.