Perfect Blue

When you write or direct a film which plays with reality and illusion, you better do it really well because you can either fail hard or succeed. Satoshi Kon's psychological thriller Perfect Blue (1998) belongs to the former category. It is the story of a pop idol who wants to become an actress. Her change of career provokes strong reactions from her fans, one of whom is an obsessive stalker. Before the movie reaches its halway mark, it becomes an insane mindfuck - to say the least.

The story of Perfect Blue has so many interesting elements that are thrown away during the film. For example, it could have been a fascinating cautionary tale of Internet, but that is completely forgotten by the never-ending twists. The dangers of rising to fame are also somewhat forgotten by the end, and the film seems to say nothing about any of the themes it takes on at first. The film loses itself in the ridiculously frantic narrative that only manages to show us how the main character feels like, but it completely deprives the film of having an impact on the viewer. It tries to be psychologically ambitious, but in the end it is a rather shallow in that aspect too. The ending is the biggest offender because it truly shows how the film was only meant to make the viewer wonder what really happened and what didnt - so that we wouldnt be concerned about its ACTUAL depth.

It is a shame how the content is more or less awful because its form is so precise and striking that it almost made me forget the silly narrative. Great compositions, beautiful animation and nice editing redeem the film from doom. Especially the opening sequence is rather impressively done.

In the end, Perfect Blue is a decent film because it is ambitious yet pretentious in its content, but its form is delightful for anyone.

Score: 6 out of 10