A story based on the manga of the same title tells a tale of Kasane. A woman who isn't blessed with appearances but is gifted with a compelling skills in acting.
Being the daughter of a famous actress but not bearing a single resemblance to her mother's face, Kasane has always been out-casted which caused her hate for people. Before her mother dies she gives her a lipstick with the pretense that it could give her what she truly desires. With the mysterious lipstick on hand Kasane could switch faces with anyone she kisses. She meets Nina Tanzawa a beautiful actress whose only redeeming quality is her face. They agree to achieve their dream together by having Kasane borrow Nina’s face and act for her. Everything was going well until Nina realizes Kasane is taking over her life, Kasane who for the very first time felt how it is being accepted by society becomes obsessed with being Nina and thus their struggle begins.
This is a dark story that revolves in someone’s struggle for her dream, and of being accepted by society. At the start it gives you the feeling of sadness for Kasane’s circumstances then the story progresses and each character gets their personalities turned upside down. Throughout the later half of the movie it makes you ponder what is right. Kasane and Nina both have the same dream but their morals differed somewhere along the way.
CAST:
I’ve seen a lot of movies and dramas of Tao but this movie made me her fan. She played the strong overconfident Nina Tanzawa and the reserved Kasane with Nina’s face superbly. The ending play where she played Salome gave me goosebumps. Yoshine Kyoko did well as well but as for me Tsuchiya Tao stole the scene.
MUSIC:
The music differed for every scene which I think perfectly fit the mood of the scene. There isn’t any particular music that left in my mind after watching, probably mainly because there wasn’t much to begin with.
REWATCH VALUE:
This is the type of movie you could watch with your friends when you want something exciting that will get your full attention. As for re-watching it by yourself, suspense movies in general kind of loses it’s thrill as you re-watch.
OVERALL:
This movie really got me curious about the story so I read the manga after watching. There are so much more in the story than the movie. I personally wish they did the story between Kasane and Nogiku. All in all the movie is a gem in a way that it’s hard to find this type of movie that’s satisfying yet you’re left with questions in the end. I highly recommend reading the manga. The conclusion and reveal about a lot of secrets revolving around the mysterious lipstick is thrilling.
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This review may contain spoilers
The story is a little bit dark and heavy, but offer a lot. Like, how we should love ourselves so that we have our own self-confidence, not borrowed from a thing or another people. This movie show us what will we experience when we are too dependent on an object or someone to achieve our dreams. I, personally, feel sorry for Kasane who blindly achieved her dream. At that time in my opinion she lost her humanity because she justified any means to achieve it.I wonder why that lipstick never used up even though being used for quite a long time, at least since Kasane's mother still young. And because of the intermediary miracle is the lipstick, there's quite lot kissing scene between Kasane and Nina. To be honest, the scene makes me a bit annoyed (⌒_⌒;) Some questions unanswered for me is from where Kasane's mother got the lipstick and where's the woman she stole the face.
As for the acting, I'm used to see Tsuchiya Tao acted as a good girl, so I'm really surprised to see in the early minutes of this movie when she become a mean girl. And in my eyes, she nailed it!
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This review may contain spoilers
Watch this for MDL challenge. Let’s discuss movies…The story revolves around Kasane Fuchi, a young woman who possesses extraordinary acting talent inherited from her late mother, the legendary stage actress Sukeyo Fuchi. Despite her natural gift, Kasane lives in isolation, burdened by a large, disfiguring scar on her face that has made her a constant target of bullying and rejection.
Before her mother died, she left Kasane a mysterious magical lipstick. When applied, it allows Kasane to swap faces with anyone she kisses for exactly 12 hours.
At her mother’s funeral, Kasane meets Kingo Habuta, a talent manager, a man who once once worked closely with Sukeyo and knows the dark secret behind the lipstick. Habuta introduces Kasane to Nina Tanzawa, a stunningly beautiful actress whose career has begun to stall due to her lack of genuine talent and passion for acting.
Behind her flawless image, Nina hides a serious condition often referred to as Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. She experiences sudden episodes of deep, prolonged sleep that can last for days or even weeks. During these episodes, Nina is completely incapacitated and unable to work. The illness is chronic and unpredictable, making it nearly impossible for her to maintain a stable career as a stage actress.
Habuta facilitates a secret deal between the two women. Nina keeps her illness hidden from the public and the theater industry—to protect her image as a rising star. Nina has the "beauty" (a flawless face) but lacks true talent and the physical stamina to perform consistently, she allows Kasane to use the magical lipstick to swap faces with her.
In exchange, Kasane steps into Nina’s life and performs on stage in her place—becoming the face of Nina Tanzawa, while Nina stays in the shadows, resting… or watching.
At first, the arrangement works flawlessly. “Nina” becomes a rising star in the theater world. But as success grows, so does resentment. The lines between identity, talent, and ownership begin to blur.
Kasane, long denied recognition, becomes addicted to the applause, the admiration, the feeling of being seen. For the first time, she’s celebrated—not for hiding, but for shining.
Meanwhile, Nina grows bitter. She watches from the sidelines as someone else lives her life, steals her glory, and does what she never could. She starts to feel empty—beautiful on the outside, but hollow inside. And worse—she resents Kasane, the “ugly girl” who now has everything she lost.
What starts as a practical arrangement soon blurs the line between beauty, identity, ambition, and self-worth.
So, how did this movie end…
Will the two women ever return to their own faces?
Or has the cost of ambition already sealed a far more tragic fate for them both?
This is an amazing movie that truly highlights a high-stakes psychological battle, where the line between the “real self” and the “mask” gradually blurs. It explores how obsession with beauty, talent, and recognition can distort identity and morality.
The way the movie ends strongly reflects Japan’s unique approach to tragedy and psychological storytelling—quiet, unsettling, and thought-provoking rather than comforting or neatly resolved.
If you’re bored with typical films that play it safe or follow predictable paths, this movie is definitely worth watching.
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Very well done, but it doesnt feel complete
I'm a very big fan of the manga, it lead me to watch the movie too.Story: I was a bit disappointed because the movie showed only like 50% of the story. Could be understandable because the manga consists of 14 volumes and the movie is only less than 2 hours long, but a lot of the story's charme was just swept under the table. An easy fix would've been a part 2 for the movie. Maybe that'll even happen, tho I'm not that sure it will. Otherwise, that 50% was portrayed well enough to keep me watching, it just didn't feel complete.
Acting/Cast: The acting was pure perfection. Well, it's a story about theater, what else should you expect? The character's expressions were on point, it felt genuine.
Music: The music was nothing special I would remember after watching, but it blent very well with the story.
Rewatch value: As I love rereading the manga, I'd probably rewatch this movie too as a little add on. But as a stand alone movie? I'm not sure.
Overall: I only suggest watching the movie if you already read the manga, otherwise it was pretty well done, just lacking a huge part of the original storyline.
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Quite loose adaptation disappointing in some aspects
I have read the manga quite a few years ago and was curious to see its movie adaptation. I remember quite enjoying it at the time despite some flaws in its writing. Unfortunately, I found myself disappointed by the film.Story-wise, it is a quite loose adaptation -which make sense as a 14 volumes manga cannot be encompassed fully by a less than 2 hours movie. However, despite the shortcuts taken by the script, I still found the plot rather confusing as if the writer was trying to put too much into it. They try to make it sensible but I found it difficult to follow and it was also a bit all over the place in its pacing.
Acting-wise, I like a lot Tsuchiya Tao but I would not say that I found her role when playing "a genius actress" totally believable. The part was clearly not easy and she did an honourable job (as well as the other female lead Yoshine Kyoko), but still something did not click for me in the performance. The acting got definitely better in the last third of the movie with a pretty compelling last narrative arc allowing the actresses to be more intense.
Production-wise, I liked a lot some of the decors around the theatre plays. I also truly enjoyed the set up and making of the dramatic scenes. I am much less convinced with how the main "fantastical" element was portrayed with the lipstick and its implication. I found also the "ugliness" of Kasane and her outside appearance totally downplayed. I had already some nit-picking regarding that specific point with the manga, and the movie made it even far less convincing...
I would not necessarily recommend this to people unless you really like one of the main actresses or if you enjoyed the manga and are curious to see its adaptation.
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