Okay, hear me out. We've gotta give this genre a name, I'll nominate "psychedelic science fiction" (or Psy Sci Fi if you will). This will allow those who enjoy the style to seek out more of it, and those who don't a way to outright avoid it, and stop dragging down the rating of seriously well made films. Nobody would go to a restaurant, order a Hawaiian pizza, then call the chef a hack for daring to put pineapple on a pizza.
Let's start by defining the genre. It's best exemplified by this film and Beyond the Black Rainbow, but owes a great dept to the forefathers Kubrick, Lynch and Jodorowsky. It's a form of art-house cinema that emphasizes an all encompassing sound and visual experience over a character driven narrative. It's a drug trip in film form, often taking lengthy detours into the abstract, and whether you're under the influence or not, it allows you an opportunity to get lost in the surreal aesthetics. The plot is simply of secondary importance, and complaining that the story lacked coherence is like complaining about the lack of trippy visuals in The Godfather.
Taken on this metric, Perfect is an absolute success. It crafts a completely synthetic universe brought to life through dazzling imagery. Whether it be through the gorgeous scenery, polarized color palette, vaporwave graphics or the occasional body horror, there's visual interest in every shot. This is complemented by Flying Lotus' masterful score which floats from stylish synths to harsh noise, juxtaposing beauty and ugliness from one sequence to the next.
The story may be thickly padded by all the artsy meandering, but it's there if you look for it. It essential concerns a man who seeks to eradicate his inner demons through an experimental treatment that doesn't go as planned, and may loosely function as an allegory for drug dependence. Again, the plot isn't the point, but anyone claiming this had no story at all simply wasn't paying attention.
Does an exercise this indulgent come across as pretentious? You're damn right it does! But this film has drifted so far up it's own rear end that it's come out the other side and is giving you the middle finger. Why should ambitions for grandeur be a bad thing? In a world where a band like Tool have been able take their deliberately intellectual aesthetic to arena rock superstardom, how has this film failed to find it's audience? Since it's clear from watching the movie that it wasn't made on the cheap, and considering the disdain and indifference towards it that litters the internet, I'll assume this was a financial flop. Which is a shame as that will do nothing but discourage people from making films this daring in the future.
Let's start by defining the genre. It's best exemplified by this film and Beyond the Black Rainbow, but owes a great dept to the forefathers Kubrick, Lynch and Jodorowsky. It's a form of art-house cinema that emphasizes an all encompassing sound and visual experience over a character driven narrative. It's a drug trip in film form, often taking lengthy detours into the abstract, and whether you're under the influence or not, it allows you an opportunity to get lost in the surreal aesthetics. The plot is simply of secondary importance, and complaining that the story lacked coherence is like complaining about the lack of trippy visuals in The Godfather.
Taken on this metric, Perfect is an absolute success. It crafts a completely synthetic universe brought to life through dazzling imagery. Whether it be through the gorgeous scenery, polarized color palette, vaporwave graphics or the occasional body horror, there's visual interest in every shot. This is complemented by Flying Lotus' masterful score which floats from stylish synths to harsh noise, juxtaposing beauty and ugliness from one sequence to the next.
The story may be thickly padded by all the artsy meandering, but it's there if you look for it. It essential concerns a man who seeks to eradicate his inner demons through an experimental treatment that doesn't go as planned, and may loosely function as an allegory for drug dependence. Again, the plot isn't the point, but anyone claiming this had no story at all simply wasn't paying attention.
Does an exercise this indulgent come across as pretentious? You're damn right it does! But this film has drifted so far up it's own rear end that it's come out the other side and is giving you the middle finger. Why should ambitions for grandeur be a bad thing? In a world where a band like Tool have been able take their deliberately intellectual aesthetic to arena rock superstardom, how has this film failed to find it's audience? Since it's clear from watching the movie that it wasn't made on the cheap, and considering the disdain and indifference towards it that litters the internet, I'll assume this was a financial flop. Which is a shame as that will do nothing but discourage people from making films this daring in the future.