Mimi, singer in a prefabricated Spice Girls-styled trio by the name of 'Cham', announces her ambition to leave the band to pursue a career as an actress. Her initial role of a one-line part in a daytime soap is unpromising, until she is coerced by her avaricious manager to move further away from her original squeaky clean image. She is soon doing nude photo-spreads and agrees to play a graphic rape scene in a new film. At the same time, someone is documenting her every move on the 'Mimis Place' internet fan page in the guise of her personal diary, and various people in her surrounding life are being brutally murdered. As her image becomes more and more manipulated by those guiding her career, the lines between her personal, public and imaginary identity become increasingly confused as she is tormented by a delusionary manifestation of her former pop persona.
For a straightforward Psycho-thriller, 'Perfect Blue' already stands head and shoulders above much of the genre. It may lack the self-knowing humour and big-name US soap stars of the likes of 'Scream' and its current gamut of emulators, but in terms of intelligence and focus it is far more effective. It's hallucinogenic spiralling descent into madness is perfectly paced and gives an obvious nod towards Polanski's 'Repulsion'. Even more remarkable then, is that it has been realised as a anime/manga film (such as 'Akira' or 'Legend of the Overfiend'). I'm no great expert on Japanese animation, but here the expressionistic editing style seems distinctly more cinematic than that of standard animation techniques, and the non-fantastical nature of the script is a departure from the usual genre material. As such, the atmosphere created is unique and otherworldly, whilst at the same time providing more graphic nudity and bloodshed than would be allowed if it were all real. 'Perfect Blue' was an exclusive presentation by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in the UK, so whether it gets any wider video release remains to be seen. If it does then I shall certainly be tracking down a copy.
For a straightforward Psycho-thriller, 'Perfect Blue' already stands head and shoulders above much of the genre. It may lack the self-knowing humour and big-name US soap stars of the likes of 'Scream' and its current gamut of emulators, but in terms of intelligence and focus it is far more effective. It's hallucinogenic spiralling descent into madness is perfectly paced and gives an obvious nod towards Polanski's 'Repulsion'. Even more remarkable then, is that it has been realised as a anime/manga film (such as 'Akira' or 'Legend of the Overfiend'). I'm no great expert on Japanese animation, but here the expressionistic editing style seems distinctly more cinematic than that of standard animation techniques, and the non-fantastical nature of the script is a departure from the usual genre material. As such, the atmosphere created is unique and otherworldly, whilst at the same time providing more graphic nudity and bloodshed than would be allowed if it were all real. 'Perfect Blue' was an exclusive presentation by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in the UK, so whether it gets any wider video release remains to be seen. If it does then I shall certainly be tracking down a copy.