young
woman not used to being on her own, Mima lets her agency make her decisions
for her and is trying her best to make to become a good actress.
Things, however, are not going well. Her fans want her to keep her
squeaky clean bubble gum starlet image, and one of them may be willing
to murder to keep her from moving on. Or is
Mima, over-identifying with her character on the show, starting to lose
her mind? Or is it something else?
Persona, The Tenant, the films of Dario Argento. I haven't seen any of them. But Perfect Blue has an extra edge that takes the tradition of the female psychological suspense thriller one step further. Perfect Blue offers a great spin on the idea of the Doppelganger, as it starts to seem just as likely that Mima is being haunted by a ghost, the vengeful ghost of her pop-star persona, as it is that she's a little unhinged and one (or more) stalkers are after her. This movie really has its eye set on Japanese pop culture, with its conflicting views of women running the gamut from rape-obsessed pink movies to virginal girly pop stars. By making the film as an anime and Mima's fans such typical otaku (anime fanboy) types, there's an additional level of commentary. But I think Perfect Blue will work for even those utterly ignorant of Japanese pop culture. If nothing else, Satoshi Kon shows a great eye for the beautiful image and the creepy idea. Mima's nervous repitition of her character's opening line "excuse me, who are you?" over and over while she sits isolated on her show's busy set is both moving and chilling in equal measure.
It's been a great season for movies, and after American Beauty and Three Kings, I think I can avoid the temptation to make Perfect Blue out to be better than it is. But I found the movie to be utterly satisfying and interesting. If you're a giallo fan who wants something new, a jaded cineaste who wants to see something offbeat, or someone who appreciates an intelligent genre film, I say you should give Perfect Blue a shot. It's more than worth a few hours of your time.