Summary
Both a summary of an impressive career and a tribute to one of the driving forces of animation over the last few decades.
When filmmaker Satoshi Kon died in 2010 following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, he was 46. In his all-too-brief time on Earth, he left us with some of the most revered animated films of the last few decades: Perfect Blue (1997), Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), and Paprika (2006). Some might even argue that he set a standard for animators that few have bettered, but many have strived for.
French documentarian Pascal-Alex Vincent explores his life and career in this documentary, assembling a series of contemporaries and super fans to explore the multi-canvas artist through the through the most important thing: his work.
“Satoshi Kon broadened the scope of animation,” declares Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Mirai), one of the current kings of Japanese animation. “He was a prickly person,” counters Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in Shell) in a juxtaposing clip. Oshii, a legend in his own right, also worked on Kon’s epic manga Seraphim.
The relatively short body of work consists of a handful of manga, four features and a short. Intercut with newly shot reflections of the modern Tokyo, Vincent sets about going through each of those pieces roughly in the order of release. For established fans of Kon, there will be few revelations here, and it’s far too brief for any real depth. Yet the luminaries Vincent has gathered together talk about their influence or reflections on Kon’s films and animated series, including Masao Maruyama and Aya Suzuki of Madhouse alongside Hollywood directors Darren Aronofsky and Rodney Rothman (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
In discussing his debut film Perfect Blue, actress Junko Iwai discusses her own time as an idol and the experience of being stalked. UK critic Andrew Osmond — author of the 2009 book that inspired the documentary’s title — draws a parallel between Perfect Blue and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001). Aronofsky points to shots he borrowed for Requiem for a Dream (2000).
Yet for all the praise, the documentary also reflects on some of the issues Kon had in the industry. “If he’s not making big bucks like Ghibli,” observes Madhouse’s Suzuki, “he really isn’t 100% respect by the industry.” Indeed, Millennium Actress critically explores that industry, ostensibly about a Setsuko Hara figure but also very much about the broader demands of the film world.
Which is why we also have works like Paranoia Agent, an experimental 13-episode series that is described here as “Kon’s answer to Twin Peaks.” Of course, Kon never quite viewed his work with the same lens that others did. The unmistakable masterpiece Paprika, for all of its darkness, was seen by Kon as his “Sailor Moon project.”
SATOSHI KON: THE ILLUSIONIST paints a portrait of someone who demanded high standards from others, and even higher from himself. Kon lists his greatest regret as never getting to complete Dreaming Machine, a film project about robots who are left behind on a crumbling Earth (and sounding vaguely like Wall-E). While we can lament that we never got to see more from him, the pieces he’s left behind show that he was successful in elevating the anime industry to high art. To paraphrase Christopher Wren, if you want to see his monument, then look around the modern anime landscape. His fingerprints are everywhere.
2020 | France | DIRECTOR: Pascal-Alex Vincent | WRITER: Pascal-Alex Vincent | CAST: Mamoru Oshii, Mamoru Hosoda, Darren Aronofsky, Marc Caro, Andrew Osmond, Jérémy Clapin | DISTRIBUTOR: Carlotta Films, Fantasia Festival 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 81 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 5-25 August 2021 (Fantasia 2021)
