After giving three films I'd watch, I went ahead and saw something different: Perfect Blue.
I had seen one film previously from Kon, Paprika, which is on my tentative Top 100 list. Perfect Blue also blew me away, but in a very different way. Of any animated film I have ever seen - and I don't think I'm being hyperbolic here - this is the closest to blurring the line between animation and real life. As someone who likes complex, thought-provoking non-superhero comics, this worked perfectly for me. Of all the prophetic visions of this film, the one that struck me the most was the pop idol-turned-actress Mima reading a blog that purports to be her own, about her daily life, and even incorporating that truth into her reality. The question about what your reality is, "Who am I?" as Mima repeats in the picture, not so ironically while she's actually acting, is as complex and elusive here, therefore probably closer to the truth, than I've see in most films that tackle existential issues. This is not to mention how thrilling and suspenseful the film is, especially in its second half. I found it simultaneously riveting and disorienting, and wasn't too surprised with I read that it highly influenced Darren Aronofsky in the making of Black Swan (another of my Top 100).
About a week ago I had questioned why Mad Max: Fury Road is such an adored film, and the gender critique and crushing of the patriarchy came up. I'd say this film accomplishes some of the same goals, albeit in highly different and more sophisticated ways. No disrespect to Mad Max fans at all, I genuinely wanted to know why people liked it, but watching Perfect Blue further clarifies how heavy-handed some of the imagery in Fury Road really is. I also think Perfect Blue does well in speaking on feminist issues from the perspective of a woman. She puts herself into the hands of the patriarchy only to find that her body and her existence no longer seem to belong to her. Mad Max is comparatively shallow, with the mothers of the Citadel not having much in the way of personality or initiative (besides following Furiosa).
I'm not saying which BlueVoid film comes next, but there are a lot on that list I want to see. I think I'm going to try Seven Samurai next weekend, just have to block out enough time to see it in one sitting.