Just seen this on All Hallows' Eve. It's a bit old, but gold! I definitely have to rewatch this, because you just got to pay attention to 'know' what is happening and follow the story. I think you'd better understand/follow the story and that it will make more sense when you watch it a second time. The whole movie experience was pretty much like every time you think you got it all figured out, you learn something new and turn out to be all wrong. I loved all those twists and turns and the is-it-real-or-not feeling like, is it really REALLY happening? Is it really acting for her job as a actress, or is it all just a trick of the mind...
Perfect Blue perfectly blends psychologically disturbed fantasy with grounded reality. Mima Kirigoe. A pop-idol. An actress. An X-rated model. Public image and its personifying echoes circulate around the world, adhering to the desires of endearing fans alike. But when their inspirational idol haphazardly shifts career, from pop sensation to dramatic actress, the psychosis of the modern consumer society ultimately changes with her. Saddened, angered and crazed. Mima’s abrupt persona altering career move may have developed maddened stalkers, including her fantastically imagined past self haunting the newly suppressed version. The late Satoshi Kon was known for seamlessly blending fantasy with reality. Depicting an opaque blurred line between delusions and actualities. None more so, than in his exaggerated psychologically disturbed work in Perfect Blue. For many the art form of Japanese animation, commonly titled as “anime”, is cited as “childish”. “Anime is for losers” tweeted kickboxer Andrew Tate. Well, if like Mr. Tate you believe anime to be childish, I implore you to watch Perfect Blue. Without illustrating the voyeuristic nature of Murai’s narrative, it is the most accessibly invigorating piece of psychological stimulation, that is strictly aimed towards adults, to ever be constructed from this art form. The complete metamorphosis of a character that questions her own perceived identity through inquisitional explicit acts of graphic nature. Exploring the psychosis of shared delusional disorder and the acute harassment of an obsessive stalker. Kon establishes a murder mystery whilst inciting the emasculation of a vulnerable female’s world. Male controllers, likened to manipulative deities of authoritative powers, are gradually weakened by a mysterious individual. Culminating into a twistingly fragmented climax that grants Mima the independence that she was repressed from. Kon’s intelligence in foreshadowing, the drama series ‘Double Bind’ essentially replicating Mima’s regressive state of mind, allows the audience to question several aspects. He smartly manages to maintain the central mystery without deterring from Mima’s mental instability. He doesn’t stop there though. Kon refuses to relinquish thematic presence in every frame. Exploring the fragility of a rape victim and the traumatisation of such an explicitly heightened ordeal. The dangers of online anonymity and the tarnishing of existing careers. Challenging the extremities of art in all its mediums. The realism of Perfect Blue is what forces its story to be so utterly terrifying. It’s not just a psychological thriller. It’s horror. Kon’s signature animation style is gloriously vibrant as always, with attentive detail towards realistic environments. The grotesque facial features of “Me-Mania”, only possible in this art form, heighten the natural malformed detest we have for him. Ikumi’s audacious score enables the heart to palpitate more frequently with its sharp tones and ethereal voices. And, as rare as this is, the English dub is surprisingly decent. The reality is that Perfect Blue transcends the medium that it is presented in. It stimulates through Kon’s trademark visceral style, allowing the dangers of early Internet culture to produce a thrilling psychologically adept feature that blurs fantasy with reality. I mean, for a film to make me stand up, clap my hands and utter the words “perfection”, it has to be something special right?. Well, Perfect Blue is special, because it is perfect. And yes, with that said it does indeed garner the perfect rating. Quite possibly the best anime feature to ever be released.
I caught this in High School and it instantly took me as an eerie Alfred Hitchcock show that did an outstanding job of feeding on pure paranoia. It was unsettling, it was scary, and at the time it seemed as realistic as it could be for an anime movie. As I rode through it, I started doubting what was real and what wasn't and that is a hallmark of a great movie, that ability to keep the viewer on their toes.
The young "Mima" has a successful, if limited, career singing with a girl band, but she is restless. Her manager insists he can get her an acting job on a popular soap - and that's the way to fame and fortune. Like so many other impressionable young folks, she tries to follow her dream - but is really only following his, and is soon being photographed (intimately), denigrated and her grasp on reality is soon compromised. When things start to take an altogether more sinister turn, though, we start to wonder just who is responsible for a series of murders amongst those known to hold disparaging views on the young woman. Might she be developing some form of lethal schizophrenia or is she (and are they) really the victims of an over-zealous fan. At times this is actually quite harrowing. The plundering of her innocence by those both venal and neglectful of this young woman is writ large and is really quite depressing to watch. The story itself deals frankly with the unsavoury nature of not just exploitation, but of the pressures the constant search for success can put on a developing mind. This packs quite a lot to think about in in eighty minutes, and 25 years on is still a potent watch.
In the suburbs of Tokyo, a group of six girls have played together at the park since they were little, but eventually have to switch schools. Before they leave, they plan to make a time capsule, but are unable to do so. The story follows the girls four years later as they meet again.
Movie Star Rating : 10 Read More
An aspiring hair dresser becomes the infatuation of a tricophilic man who sells hair extensions to nearby hair salons. The source of the hair is the corpse of a girl whose dead body continues to grow beautiful, voluminous, black hair that comes alive, driving those who use the extensions insane or killing them.
Movie Star Rating : 5.9 Read More
Originally a collection of clips from the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, Death was created as a precursor to the re-worked ending of the series. Rebirth was intended as that re-worked ending, but after production overruns Rebirth became only the first half of the first part of The End of Evangelion, with some minor differences.
Movie Star Rating : 7.4 Read More
A troubled young woman wakes up one day as a different person - someone who is stalked by creatures.
Movie Star Rating : 4.7 Read More
Akiko, a young woman, comes to Vladivostok to meet Matsunaga, a young businessman she has met in Tokyo only once. Akiko finally finds Matsunaga. However, he leaves her again, warning her not to trust strangers in a foreign country. She tries to follow him, but she is attacked by thugs and dumped on the outskirts of town.
Movie Star Rating : 5.8 Read More
Moomintroll is heading home to Moominmamma with milk. On the way there, he meets Mymble looking for his little Sister . Together they set out to find her. Based on Tove Jansson's first Moomin book.
Movie Star Rating : 8 Read More
A malevolent rock star kidnaps a female singer to force her to participate in the summoning of a demon and her band must help her stop him.
Movie Star Rating : 6 Read More
A dangerous shadow organization launches a campaign of fear and violence in the city of Shinjuku, pushing society to the brink of chaos. As a young police officer tasked with restoring order, you become the target of an attack, and have a poisonous collar attached to your neck. With the situation spiraling out of control and time running out, five mysterious strangers appear to aid you in your quest for the truth. Who can you trust? Will you be able to save yourself and the soul of Shinjuku from the clutches of oblivion?
Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
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