Perfect Blue (Rex Entertainment, 1998)
- Perfect Blue (1998)
- Black Swan (2010)
- Split (2017)
Sometimes a film’s protagonist and antagonist can be one in the same. I find this idea very interesting so my film festival theme would center around the idea of exploring identity. Each of the three films that I have chosen look at personal identity in some manner. Perfect Blue is a 1998 animated Japanese film by director Satoshi Kon. The film tells the story of a singing idol making the move to acting, much to the dismay of her fans. Mima soon starts to lose touch with reality as she discovers something sinister stalking her from the shadows. As her life continues to spin out of control, she soon finds herself face to face with her mirror image that is committing terrible acts in her name. In the conclusion of the film, we learn that Mima hasn’t lost her mind, but instead someone else has taken up the persona of Mima the idol to live out their own delusions.
Perfect Blue inspired me to pick Black Swan because these two films embody a lot of the same themes and story elements. Black Swan is about Nina (Natalie Portman), who must learn to step outside of herself to become the Black Swan. Nina deals with hallucinations and a doppelganger as well. Unfortunately Nina loses her battle with identity and dies after dancing the perfect performance in the final act. Both films deal with the harsh realities of celebrity, and the struggle to remain yourself. Furthermore, I chose Split because it takes the idea of battling personalities to another level by centering around a protagonist with twenty-three personalities and one to rule them all. This film takes a more extreme look at the idea of identity, and is different enough from the first two films to add some variety.
Author Biography
Ashley R. Pickett is a full-time student majoring in film at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
