Last night I watched this Japanese movie: “How to become myself” (ok I don't understand Japanese but they're subtitled in English).Based on a novel by Kaori Mado, this movie ‘Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata’ tells the story of Juri (Riko Narumi) a typical schoolgirl who acts the part expected of her – perky and cool, but lives in fear of the mask slipping and her true, unperky, uncool self being revealed. She admires a classmate, Kanako (Atsuko Maeda), who seems able to play the popularity game effortlessly. Then, in the blink of an eye, Kanako falls from grace and becomes the class sacrificial lamb. Juri sympathizes, but can say nothing until the primary school graduation ceremony, when she and Kanako have a rare moment alone to share what they keep in their hearts. A bond is sealed between the two outcasts, one actual, the other potential.
In high school, Kanako finally makes her escape as their family moves to a distant town. Juri then anonymously e-mails Kanako a continuing story about a girl named "Hina (Little chick)" who becomes popular with the help of some advice Juri takes from the Internet. Inspired, Kanako adopts the Hina persona and achieves a Hina-like success but comes to realize her act is a fake. Juri’s motivation was the novelist Dasai Osamu’s line: “If you’re a good liar (hiding the truth), at least do the right thing.” This is the rationale of us wearing masks in order to go about with the varied roles we have to keep in life. But at the end of the day we ask: How can I be true to myself? Which one is the "fake me" and the "real me"? And for Hina, what happens when her benefactor Juri, known only to her as "Kotori (Little Bird)," stops feeding her lines?
