MovieChat Forums > Pâfekuto burû (1999) Discussion > am I the only one that really hates the ...

am I the only one that really hates the ending ? *Spoilers*


so just saw screening of this movie last night,I hadn't seen the movie since probably 1998 when I had bootleg VHS copy of the movie (god I'm old). The movie is fantastic I think it handles distorted reality better than any live action film I've seen. However something struck me last night that hadn't before,I really did not like the ending. I feel like the movie is Built entirety around Mima's decent into madness,We as a audience aren't sure what's real,what's a dream and what is Mima's TV show. Also there are seeds planted that Mima's Stalker may not even be real.When we finally get the reveal the murderer is Mima's Manager I feel it's just not a satisfying conclusion to all that came before it. Also I feel that the movie ending with a smiling Mima and a upbeat song is totally off and wrong. To me it totally negates the emotional journey she went through in the film.Yes Mima didn't commit the murders and she went on to be a successful actress but she went through absolute mind altering hell which involved several murders(one she committed) her close companion attempting to murder her and almost getting raped all of this trauma is basically shrugged off at the end of the film. The whole thing didn't sit right with me. It's funny Darren Aronofsky catches a lot of flack for lifting a lot from this movie (rightfully so btw ) However I feel like Black Swan's twist ending is exactly how perfect blue should have ended

anyway still a good movie I just think with a better ending it could have been a great movie

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Also I feel that the movie ending with a smiling Mima and a upbeat song is totally off and wrong.


I disagree. The ending fits in perfectly with the rest of the movie; Mima's last line is actually said in Rumi's voice, meaning the traumatic emotional journey she's been on has not completely ended and rather than being negated, it's on-going. The movie concludes with the same distorted reality we've experienced throughout. Who exactly is Mima in her head.

The ending for Black Swan worked for that movie, but I don't feel it'd work for Perfect Blue.

Can't stop the signal.

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the last line is said in Rumi's voice ? I totally missed that

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I just watched the end and it's not Rumi's voice you hear when she looks in the rearview mirror, it's her own; meaning the experience she had to go through while changing careers changed her as a person, the real Mima, a famous actress now. So much, the nurses couldn't believe she'd devote her time to visit her old "friend".

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You know, I just watched it, and it looks like you're right. I totally misinterpreted what I had read.

Mima doesn't speak in Rumi's voice. She actually speaks in her own natural country accent. My bad.

Can't stop the signal.

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The ending instantly reminded me of the ending of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) in principle, the whole shrugging off trauma thing. This film is often compared to Hitchcock style films so maybe the ending is just an example of the Hitchcock influence. Doesn't mean to say you have to like it, but that may be where it comes from.

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I agree. I think the ending is actually fitting.

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The Rumi reveal is the point where the movie went from "really damn good" to "alright, this is a classic" in my eyes. Not only was it a wicked twist that caught me completely off guard, it was incredibly poignant and had a pang of truth to it: truly none of the people in Mima's life actually had her best interest at heart, and her former squeaky clean pop idol persona was just as artificial and destructive for her as her edgy image as an actress. Mima needed to figure out she really was, herself. And as nuts as she was, Rumi became such a fascinating and sad figure.

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