Perfect Blue

Satoshi Kon | Japan | 1997 | 75 mins

Fame: adulation, adoration, abhorrence. The flip side of being famous is explored in this dark, disturbing animated feature from Japan. If your only experience of Japanese animation is Manga, be prepared to be surprised.

Mima wanted to live forever, she wanted to learn how to fly high. And so she did, becoming the lead singer and near-literal pop idol of Japan's favourite pop band, CHAM. Every silver lining has a cloud, though and soon she becomes bored of her public image, and the humdrum of pop concerts, public appearances and glowing fan mail. Breaking away from what people expect of you is never easy though, especially when you choose to smash your sugar-sweet persona by appearing in a gritty TV drama.

That's when your greatest fan becomes your greatest enemy. That's when the letter bombs, death threats and internet stalking happen. That's when you start believing everybody is after you, and when your nightmares invade your dreams. That's when your pop persona starts to haunt you. That's when you can trust no-one, not even yourself.

The abstract nature of animation is used effectively to blur the distinction between dreams, reality and hallucinations. Is she imagining it, or is it really real? Mima is an interesting character: beautiful, determined, but frail, and gives an insight into the disturbing nature of Japanese pop - for Mima to be a child-like sexual innocent is expected, for her to express her sexuality is shocking.

A Hitchcockian heroine trapped in a Cronenberg reality sometimes leaves you in the same state as Mima: confused and bewildered, and not sure what to believe, until the violent ending. Don't let the first ten Spiceworld-esque pop colour-drenched minutes put you off - whilst the colours are bright, the film is, like the best chocolate, deliciously dark.

Review by Scott M Keir
Taken from EUFS programme spring 2000