Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Perfect Blue. Do not read it if you have not seen the film.
It's all right. There is no way illusions can come to life.
Perfect
Blue is one of the rare Japanese classics that need no introduction.
This animated psychological thriller directed by the late Satoshi Kon
still enjoys a cult following, 23 years after its release. The
mesmerising spectacle of ambiguity and insanity where reality mixes with
fantasy to date generates a multitude of disparate interpretations. In
this small piece, I attempt to provide my own thoughts and reflections
on the legendary anime feature. Without further ado, let’s prepare our karaoke gear and dive into the sublime shades of Perfect Blue.
First
of all, some introductory information about the production is required.
The animation was, in fact, inspired by the novels of Yoshikazu
Takeuchi: Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis and Perfect Blue: Awaken
from a Dream. Although Satoshi Kon was already an experienced
professional in the anime industry (he worked as an assistant artist on
Akira (1988), layout designer on Patlabor 2: The Movie(1993), and
co-showrunner on JoJo Bizarre’s Adventure OVA (1993)), this movie was
supposed to be his live-action debut feature. Nevertheless, due to the
infamous Kobe Earthquake in 1995, the studio significantly reduced the
budget, leaving just enough financial resources to make original video
animation. Consequently, Satoshi Kon went ahead with this approach,
having significantly changed the screenplay because he felt that the
original story was boring. Ironically, the director was right as the
live-action version of Perfect Blue received unfavourable reviews upon
its release in 2002.
The animation tells the story of Mima Kirigoe
who is an idol singer and a part of J-Pop group called CHAM! When she
decides to give up singing and become a full-time actress, her fans as
well as a personal agent, Rumi, are not entirely impressed. Mima’s
transfer to the realm of Television results in the change of her image
from a pure, innocent idol to perverse drama actress. Soon after, Mima
starts receiving strange letters, somebody sets up an internet site and
pretends to be her, and crewmembers associated with the drama are
murdered in mysterious circumstances. Mima gradually loses her grip on
reality, not certain if she is a pop singer, actress, or a
schizophrenic…
Perfect Blue seems to be a perfect companion piece to
David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997) and Mulholland Drive (2001) because
the storyline can be approached from different angles. Satoshi Kon
masterfully creates the suspenseful world of voyeurism and
consumer-driven obsession in which an idol is nothing more but a
commodity on display. It is not breaking news that the showbiz industry
in Japan suffers from a fair share of malpractice and exploitation: the
artists always have to be cool and happy in front of cameras, they are
also given stringent daily schedules, have to participate in
questionable photo sessions, and follow a strict regimen. Since the
1980s, they are effectively bullied into depression, which often results
in commiting suicide. Unfortunately, in view of the abundance of recent
news about untimely deaths of Japanese actors, musicians, etc. it cannot be said that ethics in the industry have improved.
Satoshi Kon
tackles the issue of rotten showbusiness through the character of Mima.
As a J-Pop singer, she was so cute and perfect that she could almost be
a pocket cinderella, dancing on a hand of her stalker.
However, Mima
quickly “falls from grace” when she rebrands herself. She is marked as
“a traitor” and an idol vision of herself states that Mina has become “a
filthy woman.” Indeed, participating in a drama is not a pleasant
experience for the heroine because she has to perform a rape scene and
also pose for a NSFW photo session. During these harrowing moments, the
boundaries between real and unreal become blurred. Is Mima really a
singer? Is she an actress? Perhaps she is neither? Maybe she is truly a
victim of rape who lost her mind? The uncertainty concerning her
identity becomes apparent in a key scene when the characters of Rumi and
Eri tell her in alternate realities (the apartment/drama set) that
“There is no way illusions can come to life.” Satoshi Kon’s tendency to
frame Mima within the confines of 4:3 format is not helping either. Mima
is literally trapped inside the chassis of a CRT TV.
It is very easy
to assume that Mima is a schizophrenic, or even more so, to declare
that Mima does not exist at all because everything what we see on the
screen is a work of fiction devised by Satoshi Kon. However, let’s
assume for the sake of the argument that Mima is a real person and
functions as a symbolic representation of the oppressed idol stars. How
the story unfolds from this perspective:
Indeed, Mima used to be a
recognisable J-Pop singer. She did transfer to acting which greatly
unsettled her agent. No, she did not murder people who were repsonsible
for violating her pure image (a screenwriter, photographer, and a
representative of the agency). The villainous figure responsible for
meddling with Mima’s mental health is Rumi herself. She carried out the
killings, wrote threatening letters, and set up “Mima’s Room” webpage
(Ironically, as it is later revealed, Rumi’s room is a perfect copy of
Mima’s own room). In all probability, Rumi approached Me-Mania stalker,
giving him all the merch and tips about when and where Mima will appear.
Rumi desperately desired to become the idolised version of Mima. We can
only suspect the reasons: Perhaps she tried to become an idol in the
Showa era? Maybe her career was short-lived or never really took off
because of her looks? This may be the reason why she became a talent
agent.
In the animation’s climatic finale, we see Rumi and Mima
fighting each other on a street. After surviving the ordeal, Mima not
only defeats her delusional mentor (who ends up in a psychiatric
hospital) but she also rejects her showbiz persona. There is no longer
Mima the singer and Mima the actress. As the heroine breaks the fourth
wall in the last shot and says to the audience: “I’m very much real!”
she embraces her own individuality. When M-VOICE’s Season song kicks in,
we can be sure that Mima has received a happy ending (providing that
she was real...)
Without a doubt, my interpretation is not a definite
explanation of what happened in the movie. The charm of Perfect Blue is
that you can deconstruct it many different ways. However, I felt I
needed to let out and structure my thoughts about this wonderful
masterpiece which is still relevant today. It is not surprising that to
date it inspires filmmakers across the globe; see for instance Darren
Arrofosnky’s Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Black Swan (2010). Satoshi
Kon was truly an artist ahead of his time.
«Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»
Space Sweepers; or, Guardians of the Orbit Uncle
Tae Ho, you wanna know something? There’s no up or down in
space.Nothing out here is better or worse than anything else. That’s
because everything out here has its special place. That’s what dad
always says. I admit that this particular review is slightly
unplanned and out of the blue. Space Sweepers came to my attention a
little over a year ago when I read an announcement about the
production, but I forgot about it later. This week, however, when the film
premiered on Netflix, the internet is exploding inside-out with the
hype! Needless to say, I went with the flow and checked it out over the
weekend. After over 2 hours of ridiculous fun, I can safely say that this
is a legit space opera made in South Korea.
Release Info
Directed by: Jo Sung HeeStarring: Song Joong Ki, Kim Tae Ri, Jin Seon Kyu, Yoo Hae Jin, Park
Ye Rin
Language: KoreanOriginal Title: 승리호 Runtime: 138 min
Synopsis Space, the
final frontier which eventually became humanity’s last hope. In the year
2092, Earth is basically an uninhabitable place for people. A private
company known as UTS, owned by a 150-year-old physicist, James Sullivan
(Richard Armitage), built a special space station on the Earth’s orbit,
but it is limited only to a privileged group. We follow the
misadventures of the crew of a ship called The Victory. While competing
with other sweepers, Captain Jang (Kim Tae Ri), Tae Ho (Song Joong Ki),
Tiger Park (Jin Seon Kyu), and Bubs (Yoo Hae Jin) collect space junk for
money in order to stay afloat in a grey area where they are deemed as
non-citizens. All of a sudden, they find a humanoid robot Dorothy (Park
Ye Rin). The child is wanted by the authorities
because she is said to be a weapon of mass destruction; however, the
Victory crewmembers discover that the child can influence the nanobots
in her surroundings and thus create plant life.
Victory to the Brave The
science fiction genre still seems to be the uncharted territory for
Asian Cinema. The Wandering Earth from 2019 clearly showed that
filmmakers from the East want to give Hollywood a run for their money, and
Space Sweepers movie follows this trend. Allegedly, director Jo Sung Hee
spent 10 years on just writing the screenplay. After assembling the
budget of roughly 20 million dollars (nearly 13 times less than the
financial resources of Rise of Skywalker flick), the production was
given the green light. Nevertheless, an unexpected strike of the
pandemic forced the producers to distribute the picture via Netflix
where it debuted at number 1 spot on the 5th of February, 2021.
Although
the budget may appear to be small in comparison to Hollywood
blockbusters, it is really hard to spot the technical shortcomings in
Space Sweepers. The CGI is decent and the scenography absolutely
stunning! The team behind the movie was clearly inspired by the motifs
from Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982) while creating the reality of "used future".
All the spaceship interiors, props, and costumes are a
pleasure to look at.
In terms of its overall style, Space Sweepers
is not as serious as the aforementioned sci-fi classics. There are
light-hearted moments, epic space battles as well as tear-jerking
K-Drama bits. I think it is best to describe the film as an amalgam of
Firefly (2000) and Le Cinquième Élément (1995). Just like in these two
pictures, we have a likeable crew of underestimated mavericks and an
other-worldly being who is a key to saving the world.
This does not
mean that the movie is free from disadvantages. During the first 20
minutes, the viewers are exposed to some highly extensive exposition. If
you will not pay enough attention, you may feel confused later on. In
addition, the main protagonists could have been better fleshed out (only
Tae Ho gets proper character development). To be honest, there is so
much going on in the story (villains chasing heroes from point A to
B, unraveling the true nature of Dorothy) that at times I thought Space
Sweepers would function better as a three-episode long drama.
However,
the storyline was generally presented in a coherent manner. In fact,
when the end credits kicked in with Kim Tae Song’s theme song, I felt
more entertained than after watching The Wandering Earth. Space Sweepers
hits all the right marks of a popcorn fun fest, and presses on at a
breakneck pace.
With regard to performances, Song Joong Ki and Kim
Tae Ri are hands down freaking awesome in this movie! Having known the
leads from dead serious roles in The Battleship Island (2017) and The
Handmaiden (2016), I am surprised that they went for a space adventure flick.
Additional praise goes to Jin Seon Kyu as Tiger Park and Yoo Hae Jin as
Bubs. I immediately recognised Hae Jin’s voice as the robot, but I was
surprised to read online that the actor actually did some motion caption as
well! It is also pretty cool that they brought Richard Armitage on
board. Last but no least, Park Ye Rin is super sweet as Dorothy.
Recommendations Go
ahead and check out Space Sweepers. In order to fully appreciate the
viewing experience, I suggest you play it on a large TV screen and use
headphones (sound editing is also top notch!). All in all, it may not be
a Hollywood crowd-pleaser, but you don’t need the “made in America”
label of approval to enjoy this film. It perfectly knows what it is and
has a heart in the right place.
Overall score: 8/10
«Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»
Samurai of the Sky; or, Divine Winds You are not here to die but to fight! When
looking at the legacy of Japanese filmography, it becomes apparent that
the industry always had an affinity for making war dramas. From Fires
on the Plain (1959) to Yamato (2005), war movies made in Japan
communicated distinct themes, such as exploitation of an individual or heroism of soldiers. Albeit forgotten,
Seiji Maruyama’s Samurai of the Sky is a perfect exemplification of the
latter concept. The movie is an adaptation of memoirs written by Saburo
Sakai, a naval aviator of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War
II.
Language: JapaneseOriginal Title: 大空のサムライ Runtime: 102 min
Synopsis The Solomon Islands, 1943. Saburo Sakai (Hiroshi
Fujioka) is the leader of an aerial squadron which takes down enemy
planes and protects Japanese bombers. He frequently clashes with
basically everybody in his outfit because he wants to get things done
and protect his men. Sakai is perfectly aware of the fact that the
battle in the sky is the “kill or be killed” kind of situation. During
one of the battles, the pilot gets badly injured and he loses his squad.
Will he be able to make it back to the base?
The Zero Fighter Interesting
thing about Samurai of the Sky is the fact that it does not try to be a
stereotypical tale about Japanese pilots who are only capable of
killing themselves while ramming their planes into enemy fighters. In
the first act, we see Saburo reprimanding his new commanding officer
that the most important thing is to survive and keep on fighting.
Throughout
the film we see various subplots concerning the squadron members. How
stupidity becomes their damnation or how they can’t handle the pressure.
Saburo, on the other hand, behaves like a vicious animal just because
he desires to stay alive.
In terms of special effects, the crew clearly used
miniatures of zero aircrafts and a lot of wire work. The
fights are done fairly well, but you can see that they are not entirely
up to par when compared with Kinji Fukasaku’s segments for Tora Tora
Tora (1970), filmed just 6 years before Samurai of the Sky.
With
regard to performances, Hiroshi Fujioka is undeniably a perfect choice
to play Saburo Sakai. After doing Kamen Rider in 1971, the actor’s
career really took off in the 1970s, especially within the Tokusatsu
genre. My praise also goes to Naoko Otani who provided a subtle
portrayal of Japanese nurse trying to deal with the war turmoil. In
addition, Tetsuro Tamba also makes a brief appearance as Captain Saito,
the direct superior of Sakai.
Recommendations If you are in the
mood for a film that praises the bravado of Japanese pilots, then I
recommend Samurai of the Sky. It is a bit dated, but Hiroshi Fujioka
makes it an enjoyable ride with a touch of pathos. Interestingly, it was
Seiji Maruyama’s penultimate picture before his retirement. I got it
dirt cheap on DVD in my country.
Overall score: 7/10
«Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us»
