Fluidity Between Duality: Perfect Blue and Why it's Terrifying

Perfect Blue tells the story of a rookie actress, Mima, and her descent into madness as her personal life begins to become increasingly controlled by her stage avatar. As the film progresses, the scenes bleed into one another and Mima loses her grasp on who she really is and what her life is really about. The dream sequences, the acting sequences, and reality all seem to blend seamlessly into one another, making Mima's descent into madness more palpable for the audience. What achieves this effect is that neither the audience nor Mima can tell the difference between what is real and what is not anymore. This feeling of panic and confusion is heightened by the feeling of being constantly watched and by the similarities between Mima's life and the plot of the film that she is starring in.

It is also interesting to notice how the colors gradually become more saturated as the film progresses. This further accentuates Mima's descent into madness and paranoia as the saturated hues make her world look flimsy and artificial. Me-Mima, her ghostly avatar, is also shown in brighter, more saturated hues.

The jarring cuts within the third quarter of the film are disorienting, because the audience is viewing the story from Mima's eyes. However, I do not think these scenes are necessarily meant to be seen as a puzzle; rather, they are meant to be wholly experienced. Despite the focus on her mental state, Perfect Blue does not feel invasive or intrusive, and this is because Kon sets up Mima's character as a real person. She is given depth to her character. Her life outside her artist persona is carefully painted with lived-in details, which gives a sense of intimacy between her and the audience. This makes her descent into madness even more terrifying. Because we are given the illusion that we know her well, seeing her slowly lose herself is a concept that is equal parts wrong and horrifying, as it begets the question of what we become once we lose our identity.

I give this film a 10/10. Personally, I am not a big fan of animated psychological films, because - and let's be honest here - there aren't many good ones. To be quite frank, Perfect Blue is the only good one I've seen. I highly recommend it if you're down for a slow descent into madness in 90s style Japanese animation. 

- Jenny Kheng (18/09/18)