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This is the debut film from Satoshi Kon, director of anime features MILLENNIUM ACTRESS and TOKYO GODFATHERS. I’m not a huge fan of the critically acclaimed ACTRESS, but I’d say PERFECT BLUE is on equal footing with the wonderfully whimsical GODFATHERS, which I quite enjoyed. Kon likes to take on a new genre for each of his films and PERFECT BLUE emerges from the land of the psychological thriller. Like in ACTRESS you question why this film is animated, but it doesn’t ruin the film.

Mima Kirigoe is a big pop star from a singing trio, who decides to abandon singing and become an actress. Right from the beginning she is stalked by a strange-looking, obsessive fan. Her managers Rumi, a former pop star herself, and Tadokoro disagree with the new direction of Mima’s career, starting with a rape scene in a movie, then nude pictures. After awhile so does Mima. Fueling her doubt is a Website dedicated to her called Mima’s Room, which seems to know her inner thoughts, pushing her to the edge of insanity. Before too long, she has reached the point where she has a hard time deciding what is real and what is imaginary. Then people around her start to get murdered and she doesn’t know if she may be involved.

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Check Out the Trailer

How faithful this adaptation is to the James Fenimore Cooper novel I do not know. The plot for the most part is a standard romantic adventure. Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis, GANGS OF NEW YORK) is a white man raised by Indians, who falls in love with Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe, BAD GIRLS), the oldest daughter of British colonel Edmund Munro (Maurice Roeves, TV’s DAVID). Or course like most great romances, their needs to be a love triangle so we get shady British officer Duncan Hayward (Steven Waddington, SLEEPY HOLLOW), who loves Cora, but she does not return the same feelings.

Cora, Duncan and Munro’s younger daughter, Alice (Jodhi May, THE HOUSE OF MIRTH), fall into grave danger and Hawkeye, along with his Indian brethren Chingachgook (Russell Means, BUFFALO GIRLS) and Uncas (Eric Schweig, TOM AND HUCK), rescue them, leading Hawkeye to fall in love with Cora to the dismay of Duncan. It’s pretty standard stuff really. But what makes this film so good is the detail.

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