Perfect Blue (
1997)
I’ve been meaning to watch this for a long time and often felt weird having gone on all these years watching anime…without ever seeing this. Make no mistake, it’s been on my radar for over a decade but I’ve often felt intimidated by the premise of this film, not feeling up to the challenge. But as with all good things, they come to those who wait and since I have
Perfect Blue on
Blu-ray and was well in the mood to watch it, finally maturing I finally thought that tonight was as good as any to pop it in and give it a spin…and boy was that a ride.
To attempt to go too in-depth with this would be foolhardy on my behalf and would inevitably leave me flat on my face, so I don’t feel like exposing myself too much, but to just shrug and say “it’s alright” isn’t going to do this movie justice either. After watching
Perfect Blue I felt like I had just witnessed a master class in direction…and make no mistake it is a master class performance. The late director
Satoshi Kon demonstrates just why his name is so known and just why he’s so revered here within this
1 hour 20 minute roller-coaster. The story here is manipulated with such finesse and fine tuning it’s reminiscent of a puppeteer, orchestrating its every move. Everything is placed where it is for a reason, in order to tell the story. Simple gestures come back to haunt you maybe an hour later, mundane activities are woven into the story to such a degree that it almost boggles the mind. So much scrutiny is at play here, everything has been stressed over.
Satoshi Kon is a master of his art, one that should and is no doubt studied.
Some of the emotions this movie conjured up from within me were maybe something I was uncomfortable expressing. I felt exposed and bare. A certain scene in this film had me tear up at just how uncomfortable I was, sick to my stomach and my heart beating as I reached out with one hand to switch the movie off…but I didn’t. I watched on, I’m glad I did, but the feelings were tangible. I felt terrible, but that was the plan.
Perfect Blue fully engrosses its audience and makes them truly invested in this story before it stabs you in the heart and twists the knife.
The cinematography and choreography at play here is truly astonishing and a sight to behold. Being a movie about an idol dancing and singing, I guess that’s to be expected. Nothing is sacred here, what is a dream and what is reality? The way in which
Satoshi Kon weaves each and every story thread and each and every scene truly makes you the viewer feel like the main character herself, an ex-Pop star who wants to make a career change as an actress. This allows for a movie that truly has its audiences guessing as to what reality is indeed, what a dream is and what the acting is as it jumps from scene to scene, moment to moment as you try to string it all together. This truly mirrors the mind of the main character,
Mima Kirigoe, who cannot discern dream from reality or from her on screen counterpart to her real self.
In terms of art style,
Madhouse utilizes a more realistic approach in the way that the characters and the world itself are depicted. The
Blu-ray doesn’t look perfect, with (no pun intended) some scenes looking a little blue, but considering the films age it looks great overall with strong character designs and amazing uses of visual cues such as pink outfits, mirrors and such in order to distinguish characters and make them pop out in an otherwise dull (purposely so) world. Architecture and the world itself is pretty simple in design here, but effective and works well and a heavy use of bloom and scan lines are evident throughout in order to contrast one scene from the next, from dream and reality.
The audio is great here too, with the voice acting being topnotch. Every line is delivered believably and you really fall into the trap of believing that these animated characters are in fact real and tangible. The cast here does feel real, and genuine with the performances they deliver alongside the great animation and character designs. Being a story about an ex-pop star, pop music is no doubt a cornerstone to the soundtrack of
Perfect Blue and it works effortlessly used in juxtaposition between the gritty onscreen accounts and the lively vocals of
CHAM!, the fictional pop group the movie here focuses on.
Perfect Blue is a deep movie, one tackling the issues surrounding identity and the fragility of it all, especially for a person who is in the limelight of sorts. Does your work define you? How do you make sense of yourself when the lines blur? The use of both mirrors, puddles and reflections are used in order to visually articulate such ideas in a way that only animation would be able to do. The question is often brought up, why is
Perfect Blue animated? Well it’s true that a live action adaptation was released years later, with
Perfect Blue itself originally slated to be a live action itself back in 1993. Throughout the years, many films have also tried incorporating themes and images from the film into their own as well, however I’d make the argument that
Perfect Blue, the story told here in its animated incarnation uses the medium to its full advantage, and does so masterfully.
Whether it’s the use of a nonlinear, non-chronological layout, the ghosts of the main character representing her former image, dancing mockingly around her current self or the depiction of this innocent animated image being marred and muddied as its carried through this fascinating story,
Perfect Blue is without doubt a movie that is not only a master class, but no doubt genre defining. Not for the faint of heart, but given that you’re ready to open your mind and appreciate this artistic take on a girl struggling to find her identity, you’ll have something to think about for a long time with the meandering plot, powerful imagery and many twists that will have you satisfied by the end.
10/10
*Heavy sexual content, violence and many uncomfortable scenes and imagery are present here, for people 18 and over. Requires viewing with 100% attention, but don’t be intimidated, it’s truly rewarding.
