Title: Perfect Blue

Year: 1997

Director: Satoshi Kon

Writers: Satoshi Kon

Animation Studio: Madhouse, Inc 

Voice Cast:

Junko Iwao as Mima Kirigoe

Rica Matsumoto as Rumi

Shinpachi Tsuji as Tadokoro

Masaaki Ôkura as Uchida

Synopsis

A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past. -IMDB

Intro + Pre-show expectations

Perfect Blue is another film that was recommended to me by one of my peers. I know almost nothing about the film besides the fact that it was the cinematic debut for famous Japanese filmmaker Satoshi Kon. That being said, I have not seen any films by Kon in the past. Still, I am aware of the enormous impact his films have had on contemporary cinema, specifically influencing surrealist cinema. 

SPOILERS BELOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Spoiler review and discussion.

Perfect Blue is without question one of, if not the most, psychologically intense films I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Not only does it discuss its themes in a really interesting manner but it commits to a visual style that works hand-in-hand with exhibiting the film's central themes. Calling this movie mind-bending would almost be a disservice as there is so much nuance packed into 82 minutes, the best word I can think to describe it would be mind-bending (or some other trippy word, idk).

Perfect Blue truly questions the conception of human identity and desire, though not only the identity and desire of oneself but of the true nature of these elements as a concept. Kon explores this through the 3 central characters Mima: a popular idol who is making a career change to acting through the encouragement of her agent, Uchida, an obsessed fan of Mima’s believes that she is losing her purity by committing to this career transition, and Rumi, whose association with Mima is almost as troubling as her disassociation with her own identity. 

By separating the themes of the films across these 3 characters Kon can become incredibly detailed in his presentation of each character. Therefore, to best explain this phenomenon I have dedicated a section to each of these 3 central characters. 

Mima 

First and foremost, the film's primary character, Mima Kirigoe. Mima’s story is the primary narrative of the film and therefore dominates the screen time. Through Mima, we are presented with our first iteration of themes surrounding identity and desire. During the first act, Mima is urged by her team to abandon her moderately successful career as an idol to take on a new career as an actress, to which she reluctantly agrees. It is at this moment that Mima’s true desire is first called into question. In fact, her desire takes on a physical form in the shape of her identity as an Idol. Throughout the film, Mima’s previous form is always present to criticize her every decision, remind her of her true desires, question if her new career is truly what she wants. But Kon makes a considerable effort to show that every action Mima takes is in direct opposition of her desires, as she has almost no power in any given situation. She is nothing but a commodity that is used by the male-dominated industry surrounding her, and she disassociates (literally) to grapple with the harsh realities of her new career. 

Uchida

Firstly, let's establish that Uchida is unwell, like seriously unwell. He desired Mima in a way that is not only creepy but possessive. He behaved as though Mima was his belonging and her decisions directly affected him. Not only is this a commentary on the dangers of parasocial relationships (which have only gotten worse since 1997) but it also demonstrates just how obsessed people can get with the ‘avatar’ of celebrities. Uchida does not know Mima, he only knows the Mima he reads about online and sees perform at concerts. The film does an excellent job of showing Mima’s day-to-day life to separate her from her work. By doing this the audience can see the horrifying nature of Uchida’s obsession because we can see it from Mima’s perspective. That being said, any sane person would call Uchida’s relationship with Mima tremendously unhealthy and it may serve as an extreme example of a parasocial relationship, but I also think there is a lot we can learn from it. Uchida shows that obsessing with many celebrities is similar to obsessing over a fictional character. Much of what we see in the entertainment industry is manufactured for our enjoyment and is not reflective of the real world. We must always check our relationships with individuals with status, not because they are wrong to have in moderation, but rather to acknowledge that we see ourselves as the primary agents in our stories protecting us from becoming spectators to a much larger societal fiction. 

Rumi

I think Rumi is the most fascinating character in the film. Rumi seems to represent the undesirable. Her best days as a pop idol are nothing but memories, age has caught up with her, her youthful beauty has waned and she has become symbolic of what is “undesirable” (in the film’s context). Major spoiler incoming (you were warned) . Such undesirability, along with serious mental illness, causes her to start living through Mima, and sometimes as her. Rumi is also powerless in the entertainment industry, her suggestions to Mima don’t carry any weight, and the only significant role that is entrusted to her is to serve as a mother figure for the talent at the agency. She is effectively invisible, her desires are constantly overlooked, and her wisdom is always ignored. But it is for this reason that despite her lack of power she demonstrates a level of humanity that usually makes the audience feel safe when she is on screen. Rumi says what the audience is thinking as her character seems to be representative of Mima’s true desires. She tries to guide her toward a path that seems to be more positive which makes Rumi seem to be the only morally virtuous person in the film. And that is why the reveal at the end is so incredibly shocking. Her lack of power, compounded by her desires not being met, and simply watching Mima, who Rumi is vicariously living through, lose her autonomy seems to be her breaking point (assuming she wasn’t always broken). I must say this is some fantastic writing.

My Final Take

All this being said, we cannot understate the visual style of the film. Satoshi Kon commits to a visual aesthetic that will inevitably perplex the audience. The film getting progressively confusing and unreliable as the main character desperately tries to grasp reality despite being caught in a psychological downward spiral is an incredibly creative way to show and not tell. Somehow this confusion doesn’t frustrate the audience but rather engages us even more. I found myself scouring for details to try and put the puzzle together, trying to weave the story together to make sense of it. In addition, the writing is fantastic. I found it so impressive how Kon manages to write an incredibly interesting whodunit story arc with only 2 possible perpetrators. Moreover, the symbolism in this film could probably be an entire essay in of itself, but I will keep this brief. The film takes a multi-faceted lens in its critiques of celebrity culture that analyzes both the celebrities and the public. Kon really wants to focus on the dichotomy between the individual and the icon. Through Mima, Kon shows how the societies celebrity culture can be dangerous for all involved parties, and he isn’t very discreet. He shows the individuals with power in this system: writers, producers, agents, and managers. Never the talent themselves, because they are puppets to entertain the masses. Not to mention the entire narrative of Double Bind being a long-winded mirror of real life takes the phrase art mirrors reality to a whole new level. 

I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is definitely a heavy watch so I advise you prepare accordingly. Also speaking from experience here, maybe don’t watch it before bed. 

Score:

Writing: 9.5/10

Style: 9.5/10

Performance: 7/10

Direction: 9/10

Cinematography: 8/10

Total: 43/50