Helena Campbell (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} helenas_mask) wrote,@ 2008-12-03 12:17:00 |
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Film Synopsis
Helena is a girl who works at the family circus with her father and mother. One night she gets into an argument with her mother, Joanna, because Helena wants to "run away and join real life". When her exasperated mother says, "You're going to be the death of me," Helena sharply replies, "I wish I was." During that night's show, Joanna collapses and is sent to the hospital. Ten days later, Helena learns from her father that Joanna has to undergo an operation. Helena blames herself.
On the night of the operation, Helena wakes up after a strange dream and sneaks out of the family apartment to see three men in masks: one is playing a violin and two are attempting to juggle. Suddenly a shadow "consumes" the violin player and one of the jugglers. Helena flees from the danger with the remaining masked man, who introduces himself as Valentine.
Valentine leads Helena to the City of Light, where they see its unusual citizens leaving the city because of the Shadows that are slowly consuming it. Helena is mistaken by the royal guards as the "Princess", and she is forcefully taken to the Palace of Light. At one point during her transportation, Helena looks into a house window and sees herself sleeping in her room; she deduces that she is still dreaming.
At the palace, she meets the Prime Minister, who realizes that she is not the Princess they're looking for. The Prime Minister explains that there are two kingdoms: the City of Light and the Land of Shadow, both of which have their own queens. Three days prior, the Princess from the Land of Shadow arrived at the City of Light. Despite a warm welcome, the Princess stole their "charm" and fled in secret, leaving the White Queen in an unnatural sleep and the City of Light vulnerable to the Shadows. Helena decides to help them find the charm.
Recruiting a reluctant Valentine, Helena starts following clues throughout the city to find the charm, which she learns is the "MirrorMask". All the while, the pair elude the Shadows and other dangerous creatures. Unknown to Helena, the Dark Queen is also hunting her, thinking that she is the Princess who ran away.
At certain points, Helena looks into other windows, and instead of seeing herself asleep as she thought she would, she sees a doppelganger arguing with her father, smoking, and later making out with someone Helena disapproves of. When Helena yells through the window, the doppelganger "sees" her, prompting Helena to quickly hide.
Helena's search leads her to a small white building on the border between the City of Light and the Land of Shadow. Inside the building are hundreds of locks, one of which should reveal the MirrorMask. Before Helena can start trying the locks, she is betrayed by Valentine to the Dark Queen. Helena is hypnotized to think that she is the Princess, and forgets her mission.
Valentine eventually has a change of heart and secretly returns to the white building. He tries the locks and finds the right one, but is dismayed when its contents turn out to be a letter from the real Princess, announcing her theft of the MirrorMask. Valentine returns to the Dark Palace and apologizes to Helena, whom he helps remember who she is.
A recovered Helena and Valentine go into the Princess' room and discuss the information they have. Helena remembers that Joanna had always told her that when she's looking for something, it's very often staring at her right in the face. Helena looks at the Princess' mirror, and when she dips her face in it, the MirrorMask is revealed.
Helena and Valentine flee from the Dark Palace with the Dark Queen in pursuit. Helena now knows that the Princess has taken her place in the real world, and in order to set things right, she has to wear the MirrorMask and look at the Princess. It is also revealed that the City of Light and Land of Shadows exist in Helena's drawings that are pasted on her room wall in the real world, and the Princess is methodically destroying these drawings.
Helena needs to find a window immediately, but the Princess destroys the last drawing and has apparently won. Standing on the apartment roof, the Princess throws the destroyed drawings in the air, but when she turns, the door slams shut to reveal another drawing on the door itself, and Helena waiting for her in it. Despite the Princess' protests, Helena puts the MirrorMask on.
Helena wakes up on the apartment roof, all the events in the City of Light and Land of Shadows apparently a "dream". She is found by her father, who tells her that Joanna's operation was a success. Helena is reunited with her mother, and apologizes for her previous behavior. Later, once the circus is running again, Helena bumps into a possibly human version of Valentine...
Helena is a girl who works at the family circus with her father and mother. One night she gets into an argument with her mother, Joanna, because Helena wants to "run away and join real life". When her exasperated mother says, "You're going to be the death of me," Helena sharply replies, "I wish I was." During that night's show, Joanna collapses and is sent to the hospital. Ten days later, Helena learns from her father that Joanna has to undergo an operation. Helena blames herself.
On the night of the operation, Helena wakes up after a strange dream and sneaks out of the family apartment to see three men in masks: one is playing a violin and two are attempting to juggle. Suddenly a shadow "consumes" the violin player and one of the jugglers. Helena flees from the danger with the remaining masked man, who introduces himself as Valentine.
Valentine leads Helena to the City of Light, where they see its unusual citizens leaving the city because of the Shadows that are slowly consuming it. Helena is mistaken by the royal guards as the "Princess", and she is forcefully taken to the Palace of Light. At one point during her transportation, Helena looks into a house window and sees herself sleeping in her room; she deduces that she is still dreaming.
At the palace, she meets the Prime Minister, who realizes that she is not the Princess they're looking for. The Prime Minister explains that there are two kingdoms: the City of Light and the Land of Shadow, both of which have their own queens. Three days prior, the Princess from the Land of Shadow arrived at the City of Light. Despite a warm welcome, the Princess stole their "charm" and fled in secret, leaving the White Queen in an unnatural sleep and the City of Light vulnerable to the Shadows. Helena decides to help them find the charm.
Recruiting a reluctant Valentine, Helena starts following clues throughout the city to find the charm, which she learns is the "MirrorMask". All the while, the pair elude the Shadows and other dangerous creatures. Unknown to Helena, the Dark Queen is also hunting her, thinking that she is the Princess who ran away.
At certain points, Helena looks into other windows, and instead of seeing herself asleep as she thought she would, she sees a doppelganger arguing with her father, smoking, and later making out with someone Helena disapproves of. When Helena yells through the window, the doppelganger "sees" her, prompting Helena to quickly hide.
Helena's search leads her to a small white building on the border between the City of Light and the Land of Shadow. Inside the building are hundreds of locks, one of which should reveal the MirrorMask. Before Helena can start trying the locks, she is betrayed by Valentine to the Dark Queen. Helena is hypnotized to think that she is the Princess, and forgets her mission.
Valentine eventually has a change of heart and secretly returns to the white building. He tries the locks and finds the right one, but is dismayed when its contents turn out to be a letter from the real Princess, announcing her theft of the MirrorMask. Valentine returns to the Dark Palace and apologizes to Helena, whom he helps remember who she is.
A recovered Helena and Valentine go into the Princess' room and discuss the information they have. Helena remembers that Joanna had always told her that when she's looking for something, it's very often staring at her right in the face. Helena looks at the Princess' mirror, and when she dips her face in it, the MirrorMask is revealed.
Helena and Valentine flee from the Dark Palace with the Dark Queen in pursuit. Helena now knows that the Princess has taken her place in the real world, and in order to set things right, she has to wear the MirrorMask and look at the Princess. It is also revealed that the City of Light and Land of Shadows exist in Helena's drawings that are pasted on her room wall in the real world, and the Princess is methodically destroying these drawings.
Helena needs to find a window immediately, but the Princess destroys the last drawing and has apparently won. Standing on the apartment roof, the Princess throws the destroyed drawings in the air, but when she turns, the door slams shut to reveal another drawing on the door itself, and Helena waiting for her in it. Despite the Princess' protests, Helena puts the MirrorMask on.
Helena wakes up on the apartment roof, all the events in the City of Light and Land of Shadows apparently a "dream". She is found by her father, who tells her that Joanna's operation was a success. Helena is reunited with her mother, and apologizes for her previous behavior. Later, once the circus is running again, Helena bumps into a possibly human version of Valentine...