Perfect Anime | PERFECT BLUE (1997)

Will the real Mima please stand up?

dir. Kon Satoshi

This psychological thriller anime from Kon Satoshi delves groundhog-day-style into the nature of reality, plumbing the depths of the mind of protagonist Kirigoe Mima aka Mima-Rin, a pop starlet trying to make the difficult transition towards being taken seriously as an actress.  As she and her management navigate the perilous waters of her exploitation-filled debut on a drama flick, Mima becomes the target of a psycho killer triggered by her change in career and the subsequent besmirching of her formerly innocent image. 

Utilizing the gorgeous trappings of the anime medium, graphically gory scenes (icepick stabbings, say) are interspersed with rounds of depressing beauty (the commuter train making its way through the dreary, night skyline of impersonal, overcrowded Tokyo).  There are also moments of shocking sexual violence (an enacted rape scene filmed for the movie foreshadowing an almost "real" rape) and demoralizing nudity (the skin-shots Mima poses for then later regrets).  Also the motif of reflections, most realistically executed, brings added dimensions to the exploration of dissociative disorder and the pliable nature to perception and reality.        

Kon masterfully weaves the tale of mental breakdown, causing viewers to question the nature of the events being depicted.  What part is reality, What is the film, and What is merely a figment of Mima's imagination?  All elements build towards deliberate confusion that works to unsettling effect with the reveal of the killer's identity.

A haunting, J-Pop drenched odyssey, PERFECT BLUE presages Kon's 2006 release PAPRIKA in terms of theme and in the use of mesmerizingly creepy musical compositions, specifically "Virtua Mima" written by Ikumi Masahiro. 

Super cute is the novelty that the World Wide Web presents to the reality of the anime's characters, with websites and browsers being a relatively recent arrival revolutionizing the world of Gopher and Unix protocols.            

Get it while it's up: PERFECT BLUE

Panama Indie-Film Gold | GREED (2013)

Colorful, captivating GREED.

dir. Maria Isabel Burnes

Shot in New York, GREED is a 2:46 short directed by Panamanian-born Maria Isabel Burnes, one of the vanguard of up-and-comers in the fast-expanding indie-film scene just now taking off in the Republic of Panama.  

Burnes' 2nd piece, GREED placed first in the 2013 Honduran COR3 Film Festival in the Central American category while at home she won her category in the Hayah Short Film Festival sponsored by L'Alliance Française for which she'll represent Panama in the upcoming Trés Court International Film Festival.

Her third short SCREWDRIVER, an 80s exploitation film shot in 35mm and 16mm,  is just now in the can and soon to be released.  MI COMANDANTE, Burnes' fourth short done entirely in 35mm and shot on location in Panama has just wrapped production and is slotted for release sometime next year. 

For your viewing pleasure: GREED

Charlie's 1st Talkie Packs a Wallop | THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940 )

"Gesundheit!"

Written, directed, produced, and scored by Charles Chaplin, THE GREAT DICTATOR is a slapstick-filled take on the tragedy of the WWII master-race bombast.  As his first talkie it not only carries such a prescient message, it's a well-established classic in the history of the cinematic arts.

Though the predictable switcheroo set up in the duo-role of dictator/ barber inhabited by Chaplin himself can be seen from miles off, the two-hour long journey through still presents an enjoyable ride. The ever-present Keystone cop stormtroopers, sequences of Chaplin's Bugs Bunny barber shop antics, and Hynkle's iconic world domination dance with the globe-balloon are part and parcel of the genius' mind at work.

The charming Hannah, played rough and tumble by Paulette Goddard, is the idealized, strong-willed counterpoint in the role of romantic interest. Herr Garbitsch (Henry Daniell) and Herring (Billy Gilbert) are the perfect comic foils to Dictator Hynkel's hi-jinks. When fellow dictator Napoloni (Jack Oakie) is added to the mix, all hell breaks loose.

This over-the-top humor--reading very much like golden-age Looney Tunes--allows one to approach the grotesque reality being evoked. All of it serves as an entry point for a real sense of humanity and serves as a climactic build to one of the most heartfelt, moving speeches in the history of movies.

THE GREAT DICTATOR