Hey there. I just caught this flick and I can say that I enjoyed this psychological thriller. It's a story of Mima, the lead singer in the pop star group, Cham. Mima has spent years on her perfecting her voice, but her agent and agency feel that she make "big bucks" as an actress. Mima announces to her fans during her last performance of her decision to become an actress. Not many fans are thrilled and Cham is now a duo instead of a trio.
After her last performance, as Mima is walking home, a fan hands her a note. As Mima enters her apartment, she opens the note and it contains a website. Since Mima is computer illeterate, she did not understand the note and figured it to be threatening. At that moment, she receives a fax with the word "traitor" written all over it. Shortly after, Mima says goodbuy to Cham and starts to pack her Cham memoribilia, including a huge Cham poster on her wall.
Mima gets a small role in a straight to video movie called, Double Bind. She only has a single line and she says it over and over so that she would not forget it. As she is called for her part, the director and screen writer pass by to talk to Mima's agents to deliver her letter of fan mail. The agents state that Mima is no longer a pop star so that she is readily available to take on a bigger role. As the director and screen writer walk away, they speak briefly, contemplating on using her more, since the script is not finished.
While Mima is getting ready for her shoot, her agent opens her fan letter. It explodes, injuring his hand.
While at home, Mima confides to her agent, and friend, Rumi, about the note and she explains that it's a website and she later sets up a computer in Mima's apartment so that Mima can be more computer literate. While exploring the internet, she finds a site called, "Mima's Room" which details her every day life in extreme detail. Mima laughs it off, thinking that people out there really know her well. She makes it a habit to check this site on a regular basis.
While visiting her agency, the remaining members of Cham come in to celebrate them breaking the top 100 with their new single. They mention that they never reached that high with Mima in the group. Mima is guinenly happy for them, but you can see that she is second guessing her decision to leave music. The director of the movie then walks in offering Mima a lead role in the movie. Mima has to play a rape victim in the movie. Rumi is quick to say no, believing that that kind of exposure will ruin Mima's reputation as a pop star but Mima accepts, saying that she'll have to take it head on if she's ever to be considered a true actress.
Mima is traumatized while shooting the rape scene. Since she was reluctant to accept, she feels that she has to do it if she is to become a serious actress. Soon after, she begins to have discussions with her "pop star Mima". Pop star Mima is a hallucination that calls Mima a naughty girl for doing rape scenes in movies. Mima slowly starts to unravel since she's forcing herself to continue her acting.
In order to gain publicity, the directors insist that Mima do a spread for a magazine to promote the movie. The photographer sweet talks Mima to take it all off for the interview and snap several provacative pictures. Soon after, Pop star Mima puts Mima down by calling her a slut and that pop stars don't do things like that.
Suddenly, people associated with the movie are being killed. One is killed in an elevator and another was stabbed to death, very similar to way that Mima killed people in the movie. Mima finds herself waking up in her apartment, not being able to account for what she did the night before and starts to find evidence to imply that she may have had something to do with the murders.
Mima soon starts to have frequent visits from her hallucination and threatens to take Mima out if she decides to continue to act, since in Mima's heart, she should be singing. After checking Mima's Room, she finds that the author is "Me-Mania" and the author is posting some very personal details that only Mima would know. She becomes freaked out and a little on the paranoid side. Especially since there have been killings.
After the movie shoot, everyone congratulates each other on such an awesome job. Mima is given props for her role, since it was such a demanding role for a first timer. Mima and Rumi are invited to an after party and Mima runs off to get dressed after receiving some advise from Rumi. Mima runs in "Me-Mania" who is a disfigured man who is uber-obsessed with Mima. He claims that he knows the imtimate details of Mima because the "real" Mima Emials him on a daily basis. He then confesses to killing the others and plans on killing Mima. As he beats her and strips off her clothes, Mima reaches out for a hammer and strikes him in the head. Me-Mania falls on a platform and Mima stumbles out of the room, running into Rumi.
Rumi then takes her to Mima's Room. As Mima awakens, she notices that there is a Cham poster on the wall. The room looks just like Mima's but she confirms that it's not hers when she looks out the window and does not see her normal view. As she turns, Rumi walks out and talks in the Mima personal, claiming that she is the "real" Mima and that she needs to take the imposter out. As Rumi chases Mima, Mima catches glimpses of pop star Mima in Remi. I thought that the way the differentiated the two during this sequence was great. As pop star Mima is gliding through the air, you see her reflection showing a huskier Rumi frantically funning. I thought that was great.
Anyways, Rumi manages to stab Mima twice and as she has the upper hand, Mima yells that she's not going to take it anymore and rips Rumi's wig off. This causes her to go into a panic and dives for the wig. She ends up stabbing herself in the stomach and is profusely bleeding. She stumbles into the street where a big rig was about to smash but Mima rushes out and saves her from death.
Rumi ends up in a psych ward where the warden tells Mima that she sometimes comes out of the Mima persona but she mostly believes that she is Mima. Mima then walks away and a couple of nurses comment that she looks like Mima, but don't believe that it is her since, Mima is a big star and would not be alone. As Mima dirves off, she states, "No, I'm the real thing."
I thought this movie was great. It was made in 1997 so you can say that it forshadowed what many of us, and celebrities fear today. We just don't seem to have any provacy in this day and age and almost anyone can find out some personal information on anyone. There's millions of celebrity blogs out there that basically detail the daily lives of many popular celebrities. This film shows how one obsessed fan can easily be manipulated. Even though it's animation, the theme is a very real and present one that many of us face today.
Live your life and always be the real you. Until then, later.
